Reap What You Sow
by demon19027
Summary: With Voldemort on the hunt for ancient artifacts called the Deathly Hallows. Harry has traveled to Karakura Town in search of the means to stand against him. But when an ultimatum is delivered from the Central 46, Harry will be forced to face the darkest secrets of the magical world and a final choice must be made. (Book 4 in the Reaper Series)
1. Horcrux

AN: This is set in a slight AU following the manga's Thousand Year Blood War arc.

I do not own Bleach or Harry Potter the both belong respectively to Tite Kubo and J.K. Rowling

* * *

 **Soul Reapers: spiritual guardians of the World of the Living. Their job is to maintain the balance between the myriad of good and evil souls that fill this world.**

 **In his battle against the newly revived Voldemort; Harry lost his connection with Nakatsukasa along with the destruction of his combat pass and subsequently his mother's protection.**

 **While Dumbledore began making plans to combat the Dark Lord, Harry decided set out on his own mission. Traveling to the Urahara Shop in Karakura Town, he sought out Kisuke Urahara for the means to restore his Soul Reaper powers. Upon his arrival Harry was surprised to meet the legendary Substitute Soul Reaper: Ichigo Kurosaki and his twin children Sora and Masaki.**

 **Agreeing to help Urahara brought them to his secret subterranean training ground, where he had a question for Harry.**

"There's something we have to talk about before that" said Urahara. "Tell me, Harry, have you ever heard the term, Horcrux?"

"Horcrux?" Harry repeated. "No. what is it?"

Suddenly there was a change in Urahara, gone was the playful and mischievous candy shop owner, replaced by a hardened and knowledgeable captain class Soul Reaper. Noticing the change in his friend, Ichigo directed his children away not wanting to expose them too much to the darker side of the spirit world.

"A Horcrux, Harry is an abomination" said the former Squad 12 captain. "It's a wizarding attempt to achieve immortality. They describe it as fragmenting the user's soul and sealing it away in an object for protection – believing that if the fragment is safe then they can't truly die."

"Can you actually split your soul like that?" Harry asked, finding the idea disgusting.

"It is possible" said Urahara. "The ritual to create a Horcrux breaks down the soul's cohesion allowing it to be split apart. But what the wizards don't know is that these soul fragments also maintain small links of their chain of fate. These chain links bind the soul fragment to the object creating a Horcrux."

"Sounds a lot like a normal Bound Spirit" Ichigo commented, returning after leaving his children in Yoruichi's care back in the shop.

"You're not wrong, Ichigo" said Kisuke. "Like a Bound Spirit the soul fragments' chain links will eventually erode. However, the Horcrux's spiritual pressure is far more unstable and more often than not will lead to a Soul Suicide. In order to try and avoid this the soul fragment will attempt to Hollowfy in order to strengthen itself."

"Voldemort must've made a Horcrux" Harry realized. It made sense considering the Dark Lord's recently acquired ability to summon Hollows and even fire a Cero.

"I'd say several based on how unstable his soul is." Urahara confirmed.

"The diary" the younger Substitute Soul Reaper muttered, remembering that day in the Chamber of Secrets that set him on this path. It had to have been a Horcrux.

"What diary?" asked Ichigo, confused as to what a harmless book had to do with anything.

"I'm sure Harry can explain the details later" said Urahara. "As this information is obscure even in the Soul Society, I don't blame Rukia for not recognizing it."

"Ok but what does all this have to do with restoring Harry's powers?" asked the orange haired Substitute Soul Reaper. "We could've gone over this later."

Harry was starting to suspect what Urahara was getting at. Why would he bring up the subject of Horcruxes if it wasn't relevant? Then he remembered what Dumbledore had told him about his ability to speak parseltongue: _"Unless I'm mistaken the night Voldemort attacked your family, he transferred some of his power to you"_ It could only mean one thing.

"I'm a Horcrux, aren't I?" it made sense. It also explained his ability to speak to snakes and the random moments when he'd start to Hollowfy.

"Yes" Kisuke said grimly. "I've identified you as a Horcrux. The fact that your zanpakutō hasn't repaired itself was a major clue." Noticing Harry's confusion, he decided to explain. "As you know a zanpakutō is a part of their owner's soul, as such they cannot be replaced. Under normal circumstances any damage done to a zanpakutō's shikai would be repaired over time with exposure to the Soul Reaper's spirit energy.

However, in a living vessel the Horcrux acts like a parasite – slowly infecting and feeding on its host from within. We can assume this soul fragment had attached itself to you when Voldemort attacked your family thirteen years ago. Since then it would've slowly been infecting your soul, not even Nakatsukasa would've noticed given how long it'd been hidden inside you."

"Ok, so is it like an inner Hollow?" asked Ichigo. Having already guessed Harry has had a rough time of things, he didn't want to add to that list.

"Similar but not quite" said Urahara. "The difference being that unlike with an inner Hollow, the Horcrux can still be removed from the host soul. If not for the protection left by Harry's mother the Horcrux would've corrupted his soul long ago. But with Voldemort growing in power and with Lily's protection gone; the Horcrux has grown powerful enough to damage Harry's connection with his zanpakutō."

 _At least the seal on my chest makes sense now_ Harry thought to himself. The Horcrux couldn't feed on him if his spirit energy was under lock and key. "So how do I get rid of it?" he asked Kisuke.

"There's only one option" he replied. "You'll have to purge it from your soul. The Horcrux isn't going to be hiding now and it's going to put up a fight."

"I don't care" Harry hadn't come all this way to give up now.

Ichigo gave the younger Substitute Soul Reaper an approving look. Urahara simply smirked as he remembered the countless times the orange haired man had – had that very same look of determination in his eyes.

"Let's get started" said Kisuke. Before Harry even knew what was happening the shop owner jabbed him with the end of his cane, pushing the boy's soul out of his human body.

While annoyed by the sudden act, Harry was equally relieved that his spirit form was still that of a Soul Reaper. The sight of the still broken hilt of his zanpakutō filled him with resolve to restore his link with Nakatsukasa.

Harry was about to ask what came next when in a burst of speed Urahara was directly in front of him, holding his palm over Harry's face, a white light emanating from his hand. Next thing he knew the world went dark as Harry fell to the ground unconscious.

With that out of the way, Kisuke called Tessai over to join them. The employee then picked up the unconscious Harry and carried him out into the center of the open field.

"I thought this wasn't going to be like with the Vizords" said Ichigo, watching as Tessai started to put up barriers around Harry.

"I said it's going to put up a fight" said Kisuke.

Understanding where this was going, Ichigo took his own combat pass and pressed it against his chest, releasing his Soul Reaper form. Like Harry and most other Soul Reapers, Ichigo wore the standard black shihakushō, but with some personal changes: two white shoulder plates extended over his chest in an X shape, with his left shoulder plate adorned with three sections of red scales, and a white cloak with black marking tied around his waist.

His zanpakutō: Zangetsu, two pure black blades were strapped to his back and right hip. The blade on his back took the shape of large khyber knife, with a thin hollowed-out portion running along the back edge of the blade from base to the middle of the blade. While the smaller blade on his, resembled a trench knife with an enclosed handle, with a portion acting like a hand guard.

"So it's my job to keep him under control" said Ichigo, walking up to the barrier.

"Exactly right" Urahara said a little too cheerfully, earning himself an elbow to the face. "Ugh, you know I take back what I said about you and parenthood" he cried, as he kneeled over, holding his hands over his injured nose.

"Whatever you shouldn't sound so damn cheerful about this stuff" the orange haired Soul Reaper scowled. "And enough with the fake crying!"

Dropping the act Urahara stood up – no sign of tears in sight – and snapped his fingers. At once the intricate seal over Harry's chest dissolved off his body.

"Tessai open the barrier" he instructed.

"Not that I'm doubting Tessai" said Ichigo. "But wouldn't Hachi be better for the job?"

"I admit Hachigen is very skilled in kidō especially barriers" said Urahara. "But who do you think he learned it from?"

It was easy to forget that Tessai himself was also a master of kidō and even served as captain of the Kido Corp before his exile from the Soul Society. Ichigo didn't say anymore and entered the barrier with Tessai closing it up behind him.

"You two can come out now" Kisuke called out, prompting Sora and Masaki to poke their heads out from where they were hiding behind a boulder.

"We felt Daddy's spiritual pressure" Masaki explained.

"We almost never get to see Dad fight" said Sora.

Kisuke shook his head in amusement at the fact that even after all this time Ichigo still wasn't that good at sensing spiritual pressures. Seemed that was one area where Harry surpassed his predecessor.

Trusting that Tessai's skills would be enough for the task, Kisuke allowed the Kurosaki twins to stay and watch.

 _Alright Harry, let's see what you can do._

* * *

Entering his inner world, Harry was relieved to see that the damage to his sword was limited to the outside world. That was quickly brushed aside once he took stock of just how much damage the Horcrux had done to his inner world. The once tranquil lake had completely frozen over and the night sky decorated with stars that represented his hopes and dreams, had been replaced by a blood red sky.

And waiting for him standing with its back to him, on the lake's frozen surface – in a set of white wizard robes – was what Harry could only assume was the Horcrux.

"So you've come for me" the Horcrux spoke, it's voice sounding like a distorted echo.

"Where is Nakatsukasa?" Harry demanded, unable find any sign of his zanpakutō spirit or her spiritual pressure.

Harry's eyes widened as the Horcrux turned to face him, wearing a face very similar to his own. Like Harry, the Horcrux had messy black hair and green eyes, and while their faces were similar there were some differences. The Horcrux was incredibly pale skinned with teal lines running down from below its eyes. The very same eyes though green were much darker then Harry's own and had the typical Hollow black sclera. On the top-left side of its head, was what looked like part of Hollow mask forming a broken horned helmet.

If the Horcrux's appearance of a Hollow version of himself wasn't bad enough, sickening chills ran down Harry's spine as the soul fragments mannerisms were very much the same as the Tom Riddle he had faced in the Chamber of Secrets.

"I'm afraid, I've devoured your little bird" the Horcrux taunted.

"Then, I'll just have to cut her out of you" Harry said determinedly, his anger rising.

With a sadistic smirk on its face the Horcrux opened its right hand, letting a rusted twisted version of Nakatsukasa's blade appear in its hand. Then in a burst of speed the Horcrux leapt into the air, bringing the twisted version of his zanpakutō down on Harry.

Relying on his quick reflexes, Harry brought up his own sword just in time to block the majority of the Horcrux's attack as the weight of its power started to crack the ice beneath him.

"It's funny how you think you stand even the slightest chance of that."

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First chapter and we're hitting the ground running. Thanks for reading. Leave a comment/review.


	2. The Boy in the Cupboard

I do not own Bleach or Harry Potter the both belong respectively to Tite Kubo and J.K. Rowling

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Back in the outside world, with the Horcrux no longer held back by Lily Potter's protection; Ichigo watched as a Hollow mask started to rapidly form over Harry's face, already covering the left side of his face in the white bone like substance.

 _I guess this is what it's like seeing it from the outside_ Ichigo thought to himself, remembering when he too had to fight for control of his soul.

Then suddenly without warning, Hollow Harry charged forward. The broken status of his zanpakutō didn't seem to matter to him as he instead swiped his hand at the elder Substitute Soul Reaper. Easily dodging the attack, Ichigo watched as a small explosion of spirit energy was released from the palm of Hollow Harry's hand as it made contact with the ground.

Not about to stop after only one attack, Hollow Harry made another lunge at Ichigo. This time however the bone like material of his mask rapidly spread over his right arm, sharpening into claws – further enhanced with a use of flash step – Ichigo was forced to draw his larger Zangetsu sword to block the attack and just like before the swipe was followed quickly an explosive blast.

* * *

Harry and the Horcrux's swords were locked in a deadly clash, each pushing to take control of the battle. Or so it seemed, but as the Horcrux began to overpower Harry, it became clear that the twisted soul fragment had been just toying with him. With one final push, it broke though Harry's defenses, slashing him across his chest before sending him flying across the frozen lake with a burst of energy.

Righting himself in midair, Harry regained his footing on the ice and launched his counter attack.

"Ain-Soph-Aur!" with a swing of his sword, he fired the deadly energy wave at the Horcrux. But the soul fragment wasn't worried, having been subtly absorbing portions of Harry's power since that fateful Halloween night, it was easily able to block the attack- knocking it away with its bare hand.

The Horcrux smirked at the stunned expression on Harry's face, as he started to understand just much power the soul fragment had been able to siphon off him.

"Is that all you've got?" it asked mockingly.

"Shut the hell up" Harry spat. A second later he brought his sword up just in time to block the Horcrux's twisted version of his beloved zanpakutō.

"My turn. Ain-Soph-Aur" Harry's eyes widened in horror as the Horcrux blasted him with his own attack at close range, leaving him to take the full force of the energy wave.

"You know it's strange" said the Horcrux, watching as the smoke cleared, revealing a heavily injured Harry. With his robe torn open, blood was free to pour from the wound on Harry's chest, staining the ice below his feet red.

"W…what are you talking about?" Harry demanded, gasping a little as he caught his breath.

"I was just wondering why you would hate me so much" it said smugly. "After all, we're so much alike."

"I am nothing like you!" enraged by the soul fragment's comparison between them, Harry charged forward at top speed, using the momentum to fuel his swing as he attempted to cut the Horcrux in half.

"Are you sure about that, Harry?" the Horcrux taunted, dodging Harry's attack with a burst of speed matching the flash step.

"You're nothing but a parasite!"

To Harry's surprise the Horcrux didn't argue with him. Instead its corrupted zanpakutō transformed into a replica of his own phoenix feather wand. Harry wasn't sure whether this was because the Horcrux was created through magic or perhaps it had the ability to alter its appearance in this world – one thing was certain though, the Horcrux maintained Voldemort's need to showboat.

This was made evident when with a flick of its wand, the Horcrux conjured portraits of his friends and family.

"Yes I feed off your soul" the Horcrux admitted. "Just like how you feed off theirs." From the glare Harry was giving it, obviously he didn't agree. "Think about it Harry. Where would their lives be, if you hadn't come along?"

Not in the mood for mind games, Harry responded with his Ain-Soph-Aur attack, only for the Horcrux to once again deflect the energy wave, this time with a flick of its newly formed wand.

Undeterred, Harry charged at the Horcrux, swinging his sword relentlessly as the fragment of Voldemort's soul dodged his every attack, while continuing with its venomous words.

"Let's start at the beginning" the Horcrux laughed. "Admittedly James and Lily Potter were both skilled in magic. So much so that Lord Voldemort took an interest in them. Your mother was even a Substitute Soul Reaper, and yet they died. I wonder why?"

The Horcrux's nonchalant attitude toward the murder of his parents made Harry's blood boil. Blinded by his furry, he charged the Horcrux, coming at it with an overhead strike but the soul fragment, to his frustration managed to catch his sword in its bare hand.

"They died because of you!" Harry snarled. "Because of Voldemort!"

Harry pressed his blade forward, surprising the Horcrux as he started to take control.

"That's funny" the Horcrux smiled sadistically, despite finding it harder to hold back Harry's blade. "I thought it was because of you."

Just as Harry was about to split the Horcrux's head open it suddenly made a high speed move, substituting itself with the painting of James and Lily, leaving it to be sliced in half by their son's blade.

Harry was shaken by the trick as the Horcrux continued its twisted mind games. Its venomous words playing on every little insecurity he had, even those Harry hid from himself.

"Think about it Harry. Your parents were powerful, especially your mother but what changed all that? The answer is obvious. She said it herself, your mother retired her position her power as a Soul Reaper because of little baby Harry. And when she finally regains access to her power its only because she died for **you**.

If you hadn't been born, your parent never would've gone into hiding. Pettigrew might've never had the chance to betray them. Black would've never lost twelve years of his life in Azkaban. And the Werewolf wouldn't have spent all those years alone and without a single friend."

Harry hated to admit it but he'd found himself thinking the same thing every now and again in the darkest corners of his mind. He'd never told anyone about it though and having someone say it out loud, even from a fragment of Voldemort's soul, it was painful.

* * *

Having escaped Hollow Harry's blast relatively unscathed, Ichigo continued to do battle with his fellow Substitute Soul Reaper. But as the Horcrux started to sink its fangs further into his soul, Harry's Hollowfication rate was growing faster. By this point Harry's entire body had changed completely bone white in color – both arms now covered in the bone like substance of his mask, ending with claws – black fur covered his legs with his feet now resembling talons. All that was left was for Harry's mask and Hollow hole to completely form before the Hollowfication was complete.

To make matters worse, Hollow Harry was fast making it increasingly difficult for Ichigo to pull his punches.

Evading another of Hollow Harry's claw strikes, Ichigo quickly countered with a swing of his larger Zangetsu, slicing across the Hollowfied Substitute Soul Reaper's chest. Howling in pain, Hollow Harry backed off, giving Ichigo a little breathing room.

Or so Ichigo thought, but to his surprise Hollow Harry simply picked up the broken handle of his zanpakutō. His eyes widened in shock as he watched the wound quickly heal over.

 _Damn, High-Speed Regeneration_ Ichigo cursed. Things only got worse as he watched the same white bone covering Hollow Harry's arm spread out over Nakatsukasa's hilt forming the same corrupted zanpakutō, the Horcrux was wielding inside Harry's inner world.

With a blade in hand, Hollow Harry quickly went back on the offensive. Hollow Harry came at Ichigo like a berserker, ignoring any injuries the elder Substitute Soul Reaper caused, in favor of continuing his mad assault.

Though Ichigo's years of experience allowed him to hold off the savage assault, no defense lasts forever. Proven true as in a surprising move, Hollow Harry used his free hand to grab hold of Zangetsu, pulling it to the side, leaving Ichigo open for the Hollowfied Reaper as he moved to run his corrupted zanpakutō through his heart.

"Daddy, look out!" Masaki cried, from outside the barrier where she watched the battle with Sora and Kisuke Urahara.

"Don't you worry" Kisuke assured her. "Your father isn't so easily beaten."

"Yeah, dad's the best" said Sora.

Sora's faith in his father proved true as Ichigo used Hollow Harry's grip on his sword as leverage to lift himself off the ground, leaning his body just out of the way of his sword, leaving it to only tear into the top of his shihakushō. Reacting quickly, Ichigo kicked at the wrist of the hand Hollow Harry was using to hold Zangetsu, breaking his grip. As he pulled his larger blade back, Ichigo drew his smaller Zangetsu and pointed it at Hollow Harry.

"Getsuga Tenshō" making a small slash he unleashed a powerful energy wave catching Hollow Harry completely off guard, as it consumed him.

With Hollow Harry down for the moment, Ichigo turned to face his children.

"I left you two upstairs" Ichigo scolded.

"Sorry Dad/Daddy" said Sora and Masaki, grinning sheepishly at their father.

Ichigo scowled knowing full well that they weren't sorry in the least. But the sound of Hollow Harry's roar told him he didn't have time to scold his twins further. For once the dust settled Ichigo was faced with a completely Hollowfied Harry.

Harry's complete Hollow form wore a full white mask with a line, running up the middle, diverging into three near the top of his head. Horns jutted out from his mask at ear level combined with the black wings extending from his back gave him the appearance of a bat.

 _Never thought I'd see you again in this life time_ Ichigo thought to himself, noticing a familiar spiritual pressure coming from Hollow Harry.

Still reincarnation aside, Ichigo knew things must be going badly for Harry inside his inner world, for him to have gone through a complete Hollowfication. They could only hope the younger Substitute Soul Reaper would find a way to win and soon.

* * *

The Horcrux wasn't done tormenting Harry yet, continuing its twisted mind games while evading his every attack.

"And then there's Ron Weasley" said the Horcrux. "The youngest son and so insecure. So certain that anything he accomplished would come up short compared to his elder brothers. And then he met you, the great Harry Potter. I'm sure he felt awfully proud to have you for a friend. All that recognition as the best friend of the Boy-Who-Lived."

"Ron's not like that!" Harry denied, his temper flaring as the Horcrux continued to evade his attacks.

"I admit, I was surprised by his loyalty to you" the Horcrux conceded, as it brought its hand up to catch Harry's sword mid-swing. "I was so sure he'd turn on you during the Triwizard Tournament. But how did you repay that loyalty and friendship? Oh that's the right, you decided to risk his life so you could play the hero."

"That's not true!"

"Isn't it? Think about it Harry. Before he met you, the worst he had to worry about was falling victim to one of his insufferable twin brothers' pranks. But only a month into being your friend he found himself nearly crushed by a troll because you insisted only looking for that little know-it-all friend of yours."

At the slight against Hermione, Harry struggled to force his sword out of the Horcrux's grip but to no avail. Instead the soul fragment took the opportunity to backhand Harry across the face with enough force to break his grip on his zanpakutō, and send him flying.

Though dazed from the attack – both physical and mental – Harry recovered quickly, only taking a moment to wipe the blood from his lip, while glaring hatefully at the sadistically grinning Horcrux. It was starting to seem that with every passing moment the fragment of Voldemort's soul fell further and further into madness.

Still the fact that it currently was holding his sword, placed Harry in a great deal of danger. Things only got worse when the ice beneath the Substitute Soul Reaper's feet suddenly began to quickly crawl up his legs, resistant to his struggles until it finally reached just below Harry's neck.

Ignoring the glare Harry sent its way, the Horcrux appeared in front of the trapped reaper, taking great pleasure in his defenseless state.

"Things only got worse when you gained another follower, didn't they Harry" the Horcrux continued. "First there was the Philosopher's Stone. You just couldn't leave well enough alone could you. Of course your fate was already sealed but you just had to bring your friends into it. And what happened? Oh that's right, Ron sacrificed himself for **you** "

Despite himself Harry couldn't help flashing back to that fateful night at the end of their first year at Hogwarts. The sight of Ron's sacrifice so that Harry could go on ahead to save the Philosopher's Stone. He had just watched as the giant chess piece struck his friend down.

"Your powers were still developing" said the Horcrux, enjoying the effect its words were having. "You had no real idea if Ron was going to be ok. But that didn't matter compared to your little adventure, did it?"

The Horcrux's words were digging into Harry's mind like ice cold daggers, filling him with shame at the thought of the harm he had inadvertently brought his loved ones. To add to the growing mental anguish, the Horcrux took up Harry's sword and stabbed it through the boy's icy prison, plunging it straight into Harry's chest.

The sadistic grin on the Horcrux's face seemed to widen at the sound of Harry's screams as it slowly dug the blade further into his flesh.

"Ah but this wasn't the only time you led them into danger was it? Most recently you even got them and Ginny Weasley wrapped up in **your** mission for the Gotei 13. Hermione ended up traumatized. Ron and Ginny nearly died. And all in directly caused by their relationship with **you.** Every time there's a mystery to be solved, a monster to be slain, a villain to be stopped; Harry Potter will be there leading his friends into the danger.

Yet you're nowhere near strong enough to protect them, Harry."

With that last word, the Horcrux finally shoved the sword in Harry's chest clean through to the guard, just over the hilt. Harry couldn't even scream as blood started to flood his throat, much to the soul fragment's amusement.

"Look at you Harry" the Horcrux grinned. "So pathetic. Mommy's protection is gone. No Nakatsukasa to guide you. And your little friends aren't here to sacrifice themselves for you."

Overwhelmed by the Horcrux's power and mind games, Harry began to fall into despair. Suddenly the ice shattered beneath Harry's feet. But instead of the expected dip into the lake waters, Harry found himself somewhere he thought he'd never have to see again: the inside of his cupboard.

Trapped inside the sight of his childhood imprisonment the powerful visage of the Substitute Soul Reaper faded away, replaced by that of a small little boy in worn out clothes several sizes too big.

Locked away in darkness little Harry Potter sat down on the old worn out cot, and rolled himself up into as tight a ball as possible – trying to block out the Horcrux's final taunting words echoing around the small space:

"You can try and hide all you want. But it doesn't matter; Soul Reaper, Wizard, Hogwarts, Soul Society. Hide wherever you want, call yourself whatever you want. But in the end you'll always be the boy in the cupboard. Locked away so you won't burden anyone else with your existence."

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Thanks for reading. Leave a comment/review.


	3. Return of the Reaper

AN: I'll be the first to admit I had trouble with this chapter. I'm not entirely sure if it came out as best as it could've been but I did my best. Anyway on to the disclaimer.

I do not own Bleach or Harry Potter the both belong respectively to Tite Kubo and J.K. Rowling

* * *

"… _you'll always just be the boy in the cupboard…the boy in the cupboard…the boy in the cupboard…the boy in the cupboard…the…"_

No matter how hard Harry tried, he couldn't keep the Horcrux's voice out. All he could do was sit there locked away as he allowed it to pull him further and further into despair. He needed to get out, he just couldn't take it anymore.

He crept to the door and was surprised to find it unlocked. Cracking it open slightly, he saw was a black empty void. Harry could just make out someone standing in the darkness. The figure seemed to be calling out to him, but Harry couldn't hear them.

"Boy!" a voice called out.

Harry's eyes widened in fear, recognizing it as his uncle Vernon. Desperately he pulled the door to his cupboard shut. The sound of footsteps filled the air, adding to his terror.

Harry took a nervous gulp as the footsteps came to a stop just outside the door.

"Open up, boy!" Vernon roared.

Too frightened to speak, Harry cowered away in the corner of the cupboard, trying to use his body's current small size to hide as best he could.

"Do as your told, freak!" his uncle yelled, banging on the door.

"No!" Harry cried, tears running down his cheeks. "S-someone, help!"

At the sound of his nephew's tears, Vernon ripped the door open, reached in and grabbed Harry by the leg, and dragged him out of the cupboard. Frightened, Harry tried to crawl away but all this got him was Vernon's foot stomping into his back.

"You thought you could hide from me, freak!" Vernon bellowed, ignoring Harry's cries as he dug his heel into his back.

"H-help!" Harry cried out in pain.

"No one's coming for you, freak!" his uncle snarled.

As his uncle continued to stomp and kick him, Harry's teary eyes looked out to the mysterious figure watching from their place in the abyss. The child reached his hand out in an attempt to signal for help, but the figure made no move to aid him.

Tired of his nephew's screams, Vernon took his foot off Harry's back. The little boy tried to take the chance to run back to his cupboard, only for his uncle to grab him by the back of his shirt. Forcibly flipping Harry onto his back, Vernon wrapped his hands around the boy's throat, choking the life out of him.

Harry desperately clawed at his uncle's hands, but he knew this was going to be the end of him.

" _Fight back"_ a voice echoed in his mind.

" _H-help me"_ Harry begged desperately, hoping this mysterious voice wasn't just him losing his mind. _"I-I don't want to die."_

" _Fight back. You have to fight back"_ the voice urged again.

"Stop struggling!" Vernon yelled, tightening his grip around Harry's throat. "You know you deserve this, freak!"

His uncle's words struck Harry deep, as they fit together with the Horcrux's mental attack.

" _Voldemort went after mom and dad because of me. I left Ron to die. I got my friends wrapped up in my mission. I'm going to get everyone I love killed. He's right I deserve this…I deserve to…"_

" _Is this really all you have?"_ the voice demanded of him. _"Are you really going to listen to that thing?! Remember, Harry think back!"_

Harry wasn't sure what the voice wanted him to remember. But before he could ask, several lines of razor wire suddenly burst up from underneath him – and exploded out from his heart. And then Harry's mind was flooded with images.

* * *

" _The Horcrux would have you believe that you're the reason your friends run into danger. I assure you – you aren't."_

 _ **Flashback (1**_ _ **st**_ _ **year):**_

It was their first year – the night that Draco Malfoy tricked Harry and Ron by challenging them to a duel. They had just returned to the Gryffindor common room after running into Hagrid's old pet Cerberus: Fluffy.

"What do they think they're doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school?" said Ron finally. "If any dog needs exercise, that one does."

"You don't use your eyes, any of you, do you?" Hermione snapped. "Didn't you see what it was standing on?"

"The floor?" Harry suggested. "I wasn't looking at its feet. I was too busy with its heads."

"No, not the floor. It was standing on a trapdoor. It's obviously guarding something."

 _ **Flashback End**_

" _Hmm, seems Hermione was the one that identified the Philosopher Stone's hiding place. And she did it before you three were even friends. Speaking of which; let's take another look at that memorable troll incident."_

 _ **Flashback (1**_ _ **st**_ _ **year):**_

Dumbledore had just ordered the prefects to bring the students back to their dorms. They were just about to climb the stairs to the Gryffindor tower when suddenly Harry remembered something important.

"Hermione" he gasped.

"What about her?" asked Ron.

"She doesn't know about the troll."

Ron bit his lip for about half a minute.

"Oh, all right" he snapped. "But Percy, better not see us."

" _Hmm, that certainly didn't take long. You didn't even have time to try and convince Ron. Now let's see what happened after you found the troll."_

The troll stopped next to a doorway and peered inside, then slowly entered the room.

"The keys in the lock" Harry muttered. "We could lock it in."

"Good idea" Ron said nervously.

They edged toward the open door, mouths dry, praying the troll wasn't about to notice them. With one great leap, Harry managed to grab the key, slam the door, and lock it.

"Yes!"

Confident in their victory, they started to run back up the passage, but as they reached the corner they heard something that made their hearts stop – a terrified scream, and it was coming from the room they locked the troll in.

"Oh, no" said Ron.

"It's the girls' bathroom" Harry gasped.

"Hermione!" they said together.

Turning around they sprinted back to the door. After fumbling with the key, Harry pulled the door open and they ran inside.

 _ **Flashback End**_

" _Wow Ron even rushed back to face the troll without you saying anything. Of course you know how that ended. So maybe you did get into some trouble but didn't it lead you to your closest friends. Friends who didn't hesitate to help when you were in trouble."_

 _ **Flashback 1 (1**_ _ **st**_ _ **year):**_

It was Harry's very first Quidditch match. Things were going well for the Gryffindor team when suddenly Harry's broom started trying to buck him off. Watching fearfully from the stands, Hermione and Ron listened as Hagrid explained that only powerful Dark magic could interfere with a broom.

At these words, Hermione seized Hagrid's binoculars, but instead of looking up at Harry, she started looking frantically at the crowd.

"What are you doing?" Ron asked.

"I knew it" Hermione gasped. "Snape – look."

Ron grabbed the binoculars. Snape was in the middle of the stands opposite them. He had his eyes fixed on Harry and was muttering nonstop under his breath.

"He's doing something" said Hermione. "He's jinxing the broom!"

"What should we do?"

"Leave it to me."

Hermione actually lit Snape's robes on fire to protect Harry. Never mind that Snape wasn't the actually villain, still it did prove a distraction for the actual culprit and was the first time Harry could remember someone being willing to help him.

 _ **Flashback 2 (1**_ _ **st**_ _ **year)**_

"If Voldemort comes back, there won't be a Hogwarts to get expelled from!" Harry shouted. "I'm going through that trapdoor tonight and nothing you two say is going to stop me!"

"You're right Harry" Hermione said in a small voice.

"I'll use the invisibility cloak. Just lucky I got it back."

"But will it cover all three of us?" said Ron.

"All – all three of us?"

"You don't think we'd let you go alone?"

"Of course not" Hermione said quickly. "How do you think you'd get to the Stone without us? I'd better go and took through my books, there might be something useful..."

"But if we get caught, you two will be expelled, too" Harry reminded them.

"Not if I can help it. Flitwick told me in secret that I got a hundred and twelve percent on his exam. They're not throwing me out after that."

 _ **Flashback 3 (summer of 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **year)**_

Harry had foolishly gone to rescue Dumbledore from the Fullbringer controlled Hogwarts alone. And while he managed to free the headmaster, escaping proved to be a far more difficult as he faced the Fullbringer Zane's 'Bullseye'.

What the heck is that?" Harry questioned, as he did his best to keep ahead of the bullets following them.

"That's the power of my Bull's Eye" Zane sneered. "Run all you like but as long as those markers are on you, you'll never escape." True to his word no matter what maneuver, or how fast he moved Harry couldn't shack Zane's attack.

"Hang on, Professor" Harry cautioned, turning to face the pursuing bullets, firing off an Ain-Soph-Aur attack, as they collided the resulting explosion left him blind to Zane's next move as the Fullbringer in a burst of speed rushed through the smoke, catching the boy by surprise as held the barrel of his gun in Harry's face.

"Game over" Zane smirked. "Guess you picked the wrong side." Just as he was about to pull the trigger, the Fullbringer was forced to back off as he came under assault from Quincy arrows, fired by Ted Tonks as he, his wife and daughter, Remus, Sirius, Lily, and Ron and Ginny arrived on the grounds.

 **Flashback (4** **th** **year)**

Death Eaters had attacked the Quidditch World Cup. In the chaos, Mr. Weasley ordered the twins to guide Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny away to safety. But none of that mattered to Harry as he froze in place, squeezing his hands tight enough to draw blood as he struggled to control his temper.

"Harry?" Ginny asked in concern, drawing the attention of Ron and Hermione.

"I can't" Harry growled, gritting his teeth in frustration. "I can't just run away."

It wasn't hard for them to understand where Harry's feelings were coming from. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny had also been effected by the Fullbringer event. But considering how they barely escaped with their lives in one on one (two on one in the Weasley's case) they weren't sure how much help they could be.

"Harry" Hermione said slowly, her mind flashing back to what Dilan said about wizards. "I understand. But there's nothing we can do against all of them."

"But I can do something."

Ignoring his friends' protests, Harry took off running back towards campgrounds. Reaching the tree line, Harry spotted Tonks, Mr. Weasley, Bill, and Charlie doing their best to fight off the masked rioters.

"Harry!" a voice called from behind him, prompting Harry to turn to Hermione, Ron, and Ginny who had chosen to come after him.

"No more regrets" Ron said in explanation.

* * *

" _I hope you're starting to get it. You and your friends are cut from the same cloth. You're all adventures with the desire to help people whenever and wherever you can. If not with you they would've eventually done it alone, and it might not have ended so well. You supported your friends and they supported you. Doesn't sound like you deserve to die here does it?_

 _So fight Harry. Because if you lose here that thing is going to use your body to hunt down and kill everyone you love. Now Fight!"_

"Stop struggling!" Vernon yelled, tightening his grip around Harry's throat. "You know you deserve this, freak!"

"N-No I don't!" Harry yelled, somehow managing to push back against his uncle's grip.

" _Yes that's it. Fight!"_ the voice urged. _"You've faced much worse than this fat lard."_

And it was true. Harry had faced Hollows, Fullbringers, Monsters, Deadly Traps, and Dark Wizards. He survived the Triwizard Tournament; something that had claimed far more experienced wizards than himself.

If he let himself be beaten now than Harry was going to lose everyone he loved.

 _I'm going to protect them all!_ Harry vowed.

Suddenly in burst of energy, Vernon was thrown off of Harry, who found himself restored to his proper age, standing proud as a Soul Reaper.

"You think that outfit changes anything" Vernon sneered. "You're still nothing but a freak. You're…ugh"

Having grown tired of his uncle's rantings, Harry knocked the wind out of him with solid punch to the stomach.

"I'm not afraid of you anymore" Harry declared. "I've got people waiting for me. I can't waste my time here."

"All they're doing is waiting for you to get them killed. Just like your parents."

Harry would be lying if he said that he didn't still feel some misplaced responsibility for Voldemort going after his parents. But then he remembered his mother's words from that night.

" _I love you Harry. Don't worry Mommy will protect you."_

"My mother vowed to protect me and she did" Harry said resolutely. "I won't let you taint her sacrifice anymore!"

Vernon charged wildly at his nephew, only for Harry to release a burst of energy sending his overly obese uncle flying – landing painfully inside what was Harry's cupboard.

"I'm done letting you drag me down." With that Harry closed the cupboard door locking Vernon away. "I really should thank you…Lorene."

"I would hope, you'd remember my voice" said Lorene, revealing herself as both the voice and the person who had been watching him.

"Why did you help me?" It was a good question considering the last time they had met; Harry had killed the woman – foiling her plans to expose the magical world and kick start a new witch hunt. Then he remembered an even more important question.

"How're you even here? This is still all happening inside my inner world."

"That's a good point" the Fullbringer shrugged. "So maybe somewhere deep inside your soul, you wished to see me again. You wanted someone who could relate to how you feel."

Harry could sort of accept that. He had already admitted that he could see some of himself in Lorene during their conflict.

"That Horcrux isn't exactly playing fair. Using your old misplaced guilt to mess with your head" said Lorene. "So I just provided some fresh eyes."

Harry couldn't help but notice that she didn't explain why she would help him.

"So is are you real or just inside my head?" he asked.

"Harry, of course we're inside your head" Lorene smirked. "You decide if I'm real or not."

* * *

The Horcrux stood triumphantly over where Harry had fallen below the ice, certain of its victory. Suddenly the ice covering the lake's surface shattered with an explosion of energy from under the water.

To the soul fragment's surprise, it found itself facing Harry once again. Though still heavily injured there was a fire in the boy's eyes.

Removing his sword from his chest, Harry took hold of his weapon and charged the Horcrux. Wielding its replica wand, the Horcrux unleashed Fiendfyre at Harry, only for the boy to fly straight through it – completely unaffected. The Horcrux tried a number of spells but none of them even slowed Harry a little.

Growing desperate it transformed its wand back into the corrupted version of Nakatsukasa.

"Ain-Soph-Aur!" with a frantic swing it released the deadly energy wave at Harry. But to its horror, Harry wasn't even phased by that as he held his zanpakutō out in front of him and split the energy wave down the middle.

The Horcrux didn't even have time to think of another plan of attack before Harry swung his zanpakutō slicing it in half.

Defeated the Horcrux's appearance shattered like glass revealing a sickly twisted creature.

"I suspect that's the Horcrux's true form."

A smile spread across Harry's face as he turned to find a fully restored Nakatsukasa. The zanpakutō spirit smiled down at her Soul Reaper – well as best as a bird could smile anyway – before turning her attention to the slowly disintegrating creature before them.

"You've shattered its hold on this world. The parasite can no longer sustain itself" Nakatsukasa explained. "Thank you, Harry."

"I'm just glad you're back" said Harry.

Together they watched as the creature finally faded from existence taking all the changes it had made to Harry's inner world with it and awakening their true power.

* * *

Ichigo stood his ground as Hollow Harry started to form a Cero at the end of his outstretched finger.

"Dad/Daddy run!" Masaki and Sora cried, sensing the intense power building behind the attack.

But Ichigo had no intention of running, wielding both of his Zangetsu blades he prepared to counter the Hollow's Cero. Suddenly Hollow Harry let out a screech of pain, as cracks started to spread out over his body.

"Tessai, time to let Ichigo out" Urahara ordered.

Tessai wasted no time doing just that and made an opening for Ichigo to escape through. They all watched from outside the barrier as Hollow Harry's form was consumed by an intense light. When their vision cleared they found a badly injured Harry smiling as he stood over the broken shell of his Hollowfied form.

Once Tessai brought the barrier down, Ichigo walked over to check on the younger Substitute Soul Reaper.

"So how're you feeling?" he asked.

"I feel great" Harry smiled tiredly. "Better than ever."

Completely exhausted from the ordeal, Harry let himself fall back in a dead faint. He just barely acknowledged hearing Ichigo say something about getting someone to heal him. The only thing he could focus on was the zanpakutō he held comfortably in his hands.

With the purging of the Horcrux from Harry's soul; Nakatsukasa had awoken to her true form and power.

In Harry's right hand was a pitch black sword with gray trim. Its hilt connected to a hand guard that dropped down on the right side of the blade.

In his left hand he held an aqua colored sword. Its guard held the appearance of a pair of conjoined dagger blades.

 _It's different yet it still feels so right_ Harry thought to himself, as he admired the duel blades. _I'll have to get used to using two swords._

" _There will be time for that later"_ said Nakatsukasa. _"Rest now, you've more than earned it."_

So with the comforting presence of Nakatsukasa at the back of his mind, Harry finally allowed himself to fall asleep, certain that he could face the troubles ahead.

* * *

AN: I didn't feel like giving Harry Hollow powers so instead he got a new zanpakutō. Anyway in case it wasn't clear from the descriptions, the new duel swords are the elucidator and dark repulse from Sword Art Online.

Gave it a watch and I liked the sword designs so that happened.

Anyway as always thanks for reading. Leave a comment/review.


	4. Karakura Days

I do not own Bleach or Harry Potter the both belong respectively to Tite Kubo and J.K. Rowling

* * *

The sound of metal clashing rang out as Harry faced off against Ichigo in Kisuke Urahara's underground training ground. With Yoruichi specializing in hand to hand combat, and Kisuke being busy researching into the black stone fragment, it had fallen to Ichigo to train Harry in the use of his new zanpakutō.

Though the orange haired man made a crack about Kisuke simply forcing the task on him; in the time they've been working together, it's become clear that Ichigo has actually been enjoying the training sessions with the younger Substitute Soul Reaper.

"Not bad" Ichigo complimented, as he stood before the younger Substitute Soul Reaper, with his larger Zangetsu sword in hand.

"I'm just getting started" Harry grinned, wielding both of his Nakatsukasa blades.

In a burst of speed, Harry's form flickered out of sight appearing behind Ichigo, poised to bring his duel blades down on the older Substitute Soul Reaper.

"I can see you." Without even turning his head, Ichigo brought up his larger Zangetsu, blocking Harry's duel blades with the flat of his sword. Using his free hand to quickly draw his shorter sword, Ichigo pointed its tip at Harry, "Getsuga Tenshō."

Caught completely by surprise, Harry took the full brunt of Ichigo's attack, sending him flying and crashing painfully through five boulders before finally falling to the ground.

 _Got to move faster_ Harry chastised himself.

But he didn't have time to sit around critiquing himself, for Ichigo was already on him, bringing his larger Zangetsu down on the younger Substitute Soul Reaper. Rolling out of the way, Harry quickly jumped to his feet and countered with a swing of his black sword, only for Ichigo to block with his short blade.

Harry then channeled spirit energy into his aqua colored sword, "Ain-Soph-Aur!" with a swing of the blade, he unleashed the powerful energy wave certain he'd managed to catch Ichigo by surprise.

But to Harry's disappointment as quick use of flash step, allowed the orange haired Reaper to evade his attack, as he reappeared in the sky above him, completely unharmed.

"Nice try" Ichigo smirked, as he swung each of his swords. "Getsuga Jūjishō!"

Firing a Getsuga from each of his blades the two energy waves came together in a cross shaped formation.

Harry attempted to match Ichigo's attack, firing two consecutive Ain-Soph-Aur attacks from his duel blades. But the two energy waves paled in comparison to the orange haired Reaper's power as the Getsuga Jūjishō tore straight through them without even the slightest bit of resistance.

Still Harry wasn't out of tricks yet. Channeling spirit energy into his zanpakutō the younger Substitute Soul Reaper crossed his duel blades – energy crackled as it passed between them.

"Starburst Stream!" swinging his duel blades, Harry released a powerful energy wave. To Ichigo's surprise the energy wave then split apart taking the form of a barrage of crescent shaped blades.

Most the energy blades had an explosive collision with the Getsuga Jūjishō, but a few managed to slip past catching Ichigo off guard.

Though he didn't take the full force of his attack, Harry was just glad to finally land a solid blow on his predecessor.

Slightly singed from the attack, Ichigo calmly landed and sheathed his zanpakutō bringing the training session to a close.

"Looks, like you're getting the hang of your new Shikai" Ichigo complimented.

"Thanks" Harry gasped, as exhaustion finally set in.

"Now let's get back, I'm starving."

With his own stomach growling in agreement, Harry happily sheathed his swords across his back and followed Ichigo out of the training ground.

* * *

After expelling the Horcrux from his soul, Ichigo had brought his wife Orihime to heal Harry's injuries. It didn't take long for the kind hearted woman to offer a room at the Kurosaki Clinic, and given that he didn't really have any money with him, Harry happily accepted.

Though over the course of his stay, Harry did try to repay the kindness anyway he could. Mostly he just helped with chores around the house but there were times when he'd be asked to make a run to the store after Orihime forgot something.

Today proved to be one such day for Harry as he was currently making his way back from the bakery with an order of sweet buns for that night's dinner.

"I'm back" Harry announced, stepping into the Kurosaki family home.

"Thank you, Harry" said Orihime, rushing over to meet him at the door. "Everyone'll be here soon, so you can just go find a place to sit."

Harry was about to ask if she wanted his help with anything else, but Orihime cut him off and was already pushing him towards the living room. Shaking his head in amusement, Harry decided to just go along with it and found himself a seat on the couch.

As he made himself comfortable, Harry couldn't help but think Orihime and Mrs. Weasley would get along famously. Both women had a kind and caring attitude and very welcoming. Though Mrs. Weasley wouldn't be anywhere near as supportive as Orihime in his training for his eventual battle with Voldemort.

The sound of excited footsteps running down the stairs pulled Harry from his musing as he soon found himself under attack from Sora and Masaki, who both decided to pounce on top of him – giggling at their success at knocking their house guest over.

"Yeah ok, laugh it up" said Harry, as he sat himself back upright. Making a show of readjusting his glasses, subtly drew his wand and before either of the Kurosaki twins could react, Harry had them rolling on the floor laughing as they fell victim to his tickle charm.

"Well looks like you're all having fun" Ichigo commented, as he walked into the room. At his side dressed in a shihakushō with a green hoodie underneath was the eldest Kurosaki child, seven-year-old Kazui.

Like his siblings, Kazui inherited Ichigo's bright orange hair. Unlike his father and brother, his hair wasn't nearly as spikey – instead possessing his mother's hair's smoother texture.

"Kazui, help!" the twins cried, as they continued to roll along the floor.

"I'm coming!" Kazui grinned.

The eldest Kurosaki child then charged at Harry, using flash step. Too bad for Kazui that Harry had been trained by both his father and Yoruichi, so even in his human form, he was able to track the younger boy's movements, easily flipping himself over the back of the couch to avoid the orange haired boy's attempt to tackle him.

Another point in Harry's favor was that Ichigo had only just recently started helping his son with his Soul Reaper powers, and Kazui was still a little too enthusiastic in his use of flash step, which saw him accidentally crashing into a wall – the sound of which caught his mother's attention.

"Oh, Kazui are you ok?" Orihime asked, rushing to his side. Inspecting him for injury, she was relieved to find only a bump on her son's forehead. "Sōten Kisshun: I reject"

At her command two of the petals on the flower shaped hairclips, Orihime kept pinned to her shirt transformed and spread an oval shaped barrier Kazui's bump, and in seconds it was healed.

Every time he saw it, Harry couldn't help but be amazed by Orihime's powers. He had even told her that she could easily put the best magical healers to shame and jokingly asked if she'd consider coming to Hogwarts so he'd never have to drink potions again.

"Alright now Harry please let the twins go" said Orihime, once Kazui was healed. "Kazui change back."

Obediently Harry released the charm on the twins, grinning cheekily at them as they struggled to catch their breath. At the same time Kazui effortlessly shifted directly from his Soul Reaper form to his human one before taking a seat on the couch.

Needless to say, Harry was surprised when he first saw Kazui become a Soul Reaper without a combat pass. It was Ichigo that explained that Urahara theorized it was simply an ability of those born from Substitute Soul Reapers. As Masaki and Sora had yet to awaken spiritual powers of their own yet – Soul Reaper or otherwise – Kisuke ended up using Harry to test his hypothesis.

After several hours of trial and error mostly due to Kazui not being able to properly explain how he transforms ("I don't know. I just think about it") Kisuke's theory was eventually proven true. Problem was Harry wasn't very good at it and currently could only manage to transform the bottom half of his body; making it appear to anyone that wasn't spiritually aware that he was a floating torso.

So for now he'd have to rely on his newly rebuilt combat pass, not that Harry minded.

Once the twins calmed down they joined Kazui and Harry on the couch while Ichigo made himself comfortable in a recliner. A moment later the doorbell rang and Orihime led the new arrival inside.

The new arrival was a bespectacled man the same age as Ichigo and Orihime. He was average height for his age with a slender build, with straight black chin length hair framing the sides of his face.

"I'm glad you could make it, Uryū" Orihime smiled.

"For a second there I thought you weren't going to make it" said Ichigo.

"Well unlike you, I'm kept frequently busy" said Uryū. "While you seem to have nothing but free time."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's not a bad thing. You want an emergency clinic to be empty."

"Well it didn't sound like that to me."

The Kurosaki kids laughed at the usual banter between their father and their "Uncle" Uryū. Even Harry could tell that the two of them shared a mutual respect for each other and in fact was even reminded of the times Remus and Sirius would argue just for the sake of it.

Eventually the arguing came to an end and everyone turned their attention to the television and Harry caught his first sight of the fourth member of this legendary group; Yasutora "Chad" Sado, a dark skinned, extremely tall muscular man with wavy brown hair. And the main reason they had gathered at the Kurosaki home; they had gathered to watch their friend's latest professional boxing match.

Harry had never seen a boxing match before but he had no doubt Chad was a great fighter, especially considering he won his match by knockout.

"That's another win for Uncle Chad!" the Kurosaki kids cheered, jumping up from their seats.

"Man poor guy didn't stand a chance" said Ichigo.

"True even without his Fullbring, Chad has always been ridiculously strong" Uryū agreed.

"I see Chad's doing well" said a new voice.

Everyone turned to the door to see Rukia standing there with a smirk on her face. It'd been a long time since Harry had last seen Rukia. Though he had seen her in passing whenever he visited the Squad 13 Barracks, this was the first time in a long while since he'd seen her up close.

In the time since he'd last seen her Rukia had grown her hair out reaching the middle of her back. But the most startling change was that she was no longer wearing her lieutenant badge. Instead she was now wearing the white captain's coat over her shihakushō.

"Oh Rukia, you've been made captain" Orihime said excitedly, pulling her friend into a tight hug.

"Yes thank you, Orihime" said the diminutive Soul Reaper.

"Does this mean you've taken over for Captain Ukitake?" Harry asked. He liked the man and wanted to know what had befallen him.

"Yes, Captain Ukitake's health has been troubling him for a long time now" Rukia explained. "So he selected me as his replacement and retired to his family home. The ceremony was just this morning."

"I get wanting to tell us about making captain" said Ichigo. "But shouldn't you be working with your squad? You are their captain now."

"That's actually why I'm here" said the new Squad 13 Captain. "And it concerns Harry Potter."

"Why me?" It wasn't an unreasonable question considering the Substitute Soul Reapers weren't usually part of the day to day running of the Soul Society.

"I'm not entirely sure" Rukia confessed. "All I know is that the order came from the Central 46."

* * *

AN: Admittedly this used to be much longer. But I thought it was too much and split it into two chapters. So you should be seeing the next update soon.

As always thanks for reading. Leave a comment/review.


	5. Central 46

AN: Just a reminder Yamamoto is still the Head Captain in this universe.

I do not own Bleach or Harry Potter the both belong respectively to Tite Kubo and J.K. Rowling

* * *

Rukia explained that Central 46 was the judicial authority of the Soul Society. Operating under the mandate of the Soul King, they are responsible for the laws that govern the actions of Soul Reapers regardless of whether they're in the World of the Living or the Soul Society.

The only exceptions to their rules are the Substitute Soul Reapers due to their status as residents of the World of the Living and thus making their request for Harry's attendance all the more confusing.

Sitting around wasn't going to get him answers, so Harry followed Rukia back to the Soul Society. The Central 46 compound as a circular building in the center of a small body of water, inside the Seireitei with only a single bridge providing access.

Guards were stationed at the entrance but it seemed they were told to expect them, as they didn't even stop to ask for their identities.

"Should I be worried?" Harry asked. "I mean they can't fire me, can they?"

"I don't think so" said Rukia. "As the Substitute Soul Reaper position was created by Captain Ukitake, as his successor that would fall under my responsibilities not Central 46's. Just stay calm and remember to hear them out."

After that bit of advice, Rukia led Harry through the compound to the underground assembly hall. While dark the hall did leave enough light to see the 40 wise men and the 6 judges that formed the judicial body sitting before them in tall high-backed chairs, that were arranged in two rings around the chamber, though their faces were shrouded in shadow.

But they weren't the only ones waiting for them as to Harry's surprise standing in the sole spotlight was Head Captain Yamamoto.

"Squad 13 Captain, Rukia Kuchiki. Substitute Soul Reaper, Harry Potter" one of the members addressed them. "Thank you for joining us."

Deciding to follow Rukia's lead, Harry just quietly bowed his head in respect before moving to stand by the Head Captain. The meeting was then called to order and they got straight to the point.

"Harry Potter, recognize that your presence here is unusual" said one of the Central 46 members, a woman by the sound of it. "Know that it was the direct order of the Soul King that you be present."

That was certainly was a shock for Harry and the two captains even the Head Captain opened one of his eyes in surprise.

"Yes so understand the importance of this meeting" said another Central 46 member, this one sounding like an elderly man. "According to the records approximately two years ago: the then Lieutenant Rukia Kuchiki was dispatched to respond to a sudden upshot in Hollow activity at the wizarding institute known as Hogwarts, is this correct?"

"Yes, former Captain Ukitake thought it wise to send me to investigate" Rukia confirmed. "During the incident I came to the aid of the newly awakened Substitute Soul Reaper, Harry Potter. It was concluded that the increase in Hollows was caused by the twisted spiritual pressure of a soul sealed inside a diary, located at the scene."

They had Harry give his record of the events, taking care to identify the diary as a Horcrux. Then the Head Captain then explained that the battle resulted in the destruction of the soul fragment before it could be brought to Squad 12 for analysis. This along with Voldemort's ability to hide his damaged soul within animals had made tracking him down impossible.

Finally, they asked Harry for details on the night of Voldemort's revival. It was difficult for Harry still felt guilty about not being able to save Cedric Diggory. Still the members of the judicial body listened patiently as he powered through his retelling, thankfully not commenting on Harry's clear discomfort.

Once Harry finished Central 46 took a moment to considering everything before addressing the three of them.

"Research conducted by former Squad 12 Captain, Kisuke Urahara has identified the black stone used by the wizard known as Voldemort – as one of three wizarding artifacts collectively known as the Deathly Hallows. Specifically, the Resurrection Stone" one of the members explained. "While records pertaining to the other Hallows were lost during the Wandenreich Invasion of the Seireitei. This stone alone has proven itself to present a danger to the balance of souls. And this is not the first time the wizards have proven themselves to be a danger."

 _How are wizards a threat_? Harry wondered. From a past conversation he had with his mother and Voldemort's comment in the graveyard, he knew that at some point in their history wizards once knew about Soul Reapers. But with the exception of the Resurrection Stone he couldn't see the threat.

Harry wanted to ask but a look from Rukia told him now wasn't the best time.

"Genryūsai Yamamoto, you served as Head Captain during both the initial Quincy purge and the subsequent conflict with the Wandenreich. In your opinion have the wizards reached the same potential threat level?"

Harry looked to the Head Captain worried that the meeting would end with the orders for a purge of the wizarding race.

"The decision to purge the Quincy was a difficult one" the Head Captain admitted. "However it was necessary. Since that time wizards have chosen to forget about the forces that exist outside of magic and we have accommodated that decision. It is true that in their ignorance they have trifled with forces that no one let alone humans should meddle in. Nevertheless, that same ignorance does not make them any less a danger than the Quincy were."

Harry didn't like the sound of that and was about to speak out when the Head Captain began to speak again

"However, I do not believe that the same harsh methods will be necessary" Yamamoto continued. "At this stage the increase in Hollow activity plaguing Europe and the threat of the Deathly Hallows all comes down to this Voldemort and his followers. Their removal will be sufficient."

"We will now take a moment to deliberate. Wait outside until you are summoned."

* * *

While they waited outside the assembly hall, Harry felt it a good opportunity to speak with the Head Captain. Maybe he could even ask him about what risks to the balance of souls have wizards caused in the past.

"Thank you, Sir" he said sincerely. Harry knew wizards weren't perfect but he didn't think they deserved to be wiped out.

"There is no need to thank me" said Yamamoto. "If the wizards as a whole were a threat, however regrettable I would have agreed to order their extermination."

Harry wasn't sure how he felt about that. Apparently he still hadn't developed a good poker face as the Head Captain felt he needed to point out.

"You wear your heart openly" he commented. "Feel free to think poorly of me if you must. In my time as leader of the Gotei 13 I have been forced to make many difficult decisions."

"Like with the Quincy?" Harry asked cautiously. He had a feeling this was the closest he was ever going to get to seeing Yamamoto actually look tired.

"However necessary the Quincy purge was; I do not take pride in that decision" the Head Captain confessed. "Such is the burden of command. You find yourself forced to make difficult decisions. Still those decisions must be made lest your hesitancy bring forth greater disaster."

It took Harry a minute but he came to understand what the Head Captain was saying. Sometimes life forces those in charge to make decisions in situations in which there are no good choices. Yamamoto had to choose between nearly wiping out an entire race or risk the destruction of the world. Harry hoped he'd never have to make such a decision.

"Head Captain, you and the Central 46 mentioned wizards being a threat before" Harry said cautiously. "What exactly happened?"

Though he wasn't surprised by the question Yamamoto took a moment to organize his thoughts.

"As I'm sure you've come to understand, magic is capable of bringing about both great wonder and horrific tragedy" he began, to which Harry agreed. "In their history many wizards have chosen to ignore this truth in favor of satisfying their own curiosity and desire to push the very limits of their capabilities. This in of itself is not necessarily dangerous as that is the very nature of research. However magic by its very nature may only be limited by those of its users."

Harry agreed with him there as he remembered how house elves unlike wizards are able to apparate freely on Hogwarts ground. But he wasn't sure what the danger was yet.

"I am getting there" said Yamamoto, noting the young man's impatience. "Wizards have tried many ways to expand their abilities through the creation of tools, such as the wand.

They have however tried to reach too far. One such event had Squad 12 Captain, Kurotsuchi ranting about being pulled away from his own research to deal with a temporal instability caused by a magical experiment into the manipulation of time.

And now we have this Resurrection Stone, that from what we understand uses the energy of captured souls to restore the wielder in the event of fatal injury. Imagine if these other Hallows possess similar abilities or worse should more be created. These threats have to be considered."

Having faced one, Harry could understand the threat of the Deathly Hallows. He certainly didn't want more of them created either. But still surely the idea of a possible threat wasn't enough for them to consider authorizing the elimination of the wizarding race. Harry wasn't even sure if anyone in the wizarding world actually knew about the Hallows existence let alone how to create more. Maybe their original creator didn't even leave anything on them behind?

But when Harry said as such he was disappointed to find that he hadn't changed Yamamoto's mind.

It didn't matter anyway as the Central 46 then called them backed into the assembly hall.

* * *

As they once again stood before the Central 46, Harry couldn't help but fear that they'd order the Gotei 13 to attack the magical world. It didn't take a genius to tell that the wizards wouldn't stand a chance.

"Substitute Soul Reaper, Harry Potter, step forward" one the Central 46 members commanded. With some trepidation, Harry complied. "It is to our understanding that there's a personal connection between yourself and this Voldemort."

Harry wouldn't exactly call it a personal connection. More like the guy was obsessed with killing him for something his mother did. Still it was best not the best time to be a smart mouth. So Harry kept things simple and just confirmed their information.

"Then that makes you the one best suited to deal with the situation. Our decision has been made. Substitute Soul Reaper, Harry Potter: you are to eliminate the wizard known as Voldemort. Should you fail to do so before he comes into possession of the remaining two Deathly Hallows, or should Hollow activity reach beyond the Gotei 13's ability to contain, they are to purge the wizarding race until the threat is eliminated."

* * *

Thanks for reading. Leave a comment/review


	6. Welcome to the Order

I do not own Bleach or Harry Potter the both belong respectively to Tite Kubo and J.K. Rowling

* * *

Where in the world is Harry Potter? That's the question that's been on everyone's mind, especially Sirius'. He could still remember how his heart dropped when Ron, Ginny, and Hermione explained Harry had gone off on his own. Of course no matter how hard they tried, neither he nor Remus could get the teens to spill where exactly Harry had gone. Apparently their agreement to work with Dumbledore for the moment made them wary about giving away information lest the headmaster find some way to steal it.

It was just like how they were keeping Snape's involvement in James and Lily's deaths from Sirius, and that bothered the Marauder greatly. He was the one that was supposed to be looking after Harry, and yet his godson felt he had to keep information from him because he was worried about what he'd do. It didn't help that he was right too, because if it weren't for Remus and their current situation with Voldemort being back, Sirius would be sitting in his old cell in Azkaban for murdering Snape.

Of course none of this helped Sirius with the ever persistent problem of having no idea where Harry had gone off to. It only got worse when Dumbledore and the Order got involved. It'd been months and all the kids had said was 'Harry will be back' of course they wouldn't tell them back from where.

Of course this just got Molly started on how dangerous it was for Harry to be running off on his own. Snape made a few unappreciated comments which set Sirius and Remus off, and caused Mrs. Weasley to go ballistic when the potions master suggested giving the kids Veritaserum. As for Dumbledore well they just refused to even be in the same room as the old man.

Eventually the focus of the Order meetings changed from Harry's whereabouts to the group's efforts against Voldemort. But Dumbledore still had a few members keeping an eye out for the boy.

On another note, Sirius didn't appreciate Dumbledore's choice of headquarters. As he sat in the darkly lit confines of his old family home, the dog animagus could practically feel his skin crawling from being there.

Agreeing to have 12 Grimmauld Place turned into the headquarters of a group dedicated to fighting against Voldemort and the dark beliefs of his family seemed like a hilarious idea at the time. Of course at the time Sirius didn't think about just how many hours he'd be forced to spend inside its wall.

Not that there weren't benefits to using the old Black family home. Its large size meant there was plenty of room for meetings. The building also still had a few protections left over from when the Black family lived there meaning all Dumbledore had to do was add on the Fidelius Charm.

Still no amount of protection made visiting the sight of his childhood torment only to listen to Snape give his so called reports, seemed worth it. Still what more could he do?

"The Dark Lord continues to have his Death Eaters researching the Peverell Brothers" Snape reported to the room. "For the moment he shows no interest in Potter. It's safe to assume he continues to be unaware of the boy's absence."

 _Same as always_ Sirius scoffed, rolling his eyes at the umpteenth time Snape had given the same report.

"There a problem, Black?" Snape sneered.

"Yeah, I'm wondering why our so called spy never seems to have anything useful to say" said Sirius, glaring at the potions professor.

"Remind me, Black. What exactly have you and the wolf been doing? Short of losing that coward of a godson of yours."

As expected Sirius backed by Remus jumped to their feet, wands aimed at Snape, who returned the gesture.

"That's enough!" Dumbledore said sternly, interfering before anyone could start firing spells. "This is not the time for us to be bickering amongst ourselves. Severus continue to keep us informed of Voldemort's actions. I believe that will be all for tonight."

With the meeting over the Order members started to go about their business, Sirius and Remus noted that Snape took the first chance he got to leave before they could corner him. While he certainly was the calmer of the two, Remus shared in his long time friend's desire for revenge and swore that once Voldemort was dealt with Severus Snape would be next.

"Shall we get going?" Remus asked, turning Sirius.

"Gladly" the dog animagus replied.

The two marauders were about to leave for the night when fellow Order member Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody announced to the room they had an intruder. This threw the members into a panic as they couldn't believe someone had managed to circumvent Dumbledore's protections.

"Alastor, can you see our visitor's face?" Dumbledore asked, calming the room as he took command.

"Not from down here" said Mad-Eye. "The angles bad. But they're in attic with Molly."

Hearing his wife was in danger, Arthur rushed out the door with Bill Weasley, Sirius, Remus, and several other Order members following after him. Strangely neither Mad-Eye nor Dumbledore moved to follow instead they turned their focus to the only other person remaining in the sitting room.

"I have a feeling you know exactly who our mysterious new arrival is, my dear" said Dumbledore.

"Tonks just tell us girl" said Mad-Eye, far too used to his former trainee's attitude.

But as Moody expected, Tonks simply stood there with a knowing smirk on her face clearly having no desire to spoil the surprise.

* * *

With the Order having no news on Harry's whereabouts and with the children refusing to say anything, Molly had taken to finding any distraction she could to help with her stress. Ordinarily she would spend time cooking meals for after Order meetings but tonight it simply wasn't enough for her.

With the beginning of the children's next year at Hogwarts fast approaching, Molly found her worries growing worse with each passing day. So much so that she had taken to tidying up the old Black family home when she wasn't cooking – anything to keep herself from worrying over Harry's wellbeing.

Which is what had brought her to the attic. Like the rest of the house it was filthy with a lifetimes worth of junk covered in dust filling the room. For the first time since the Order first gathered in their current headquarters Molly was grateful for the state of the building as she moved about the attic cleaning the various knickknacks.

The cleaning was proving an effective way to deal with her worries when suddenly she heard something fall off a shelf behind her. Curious to find out what, Molly turned to find an open trunk laying on the ground and next to it laying spread out on the dusty old carpet was something that filled with a cold terror. For lying on the ground illuminated by a patch of moonlight, was the twisted remains of a clearly dead Ron.

"Ronald" she sobbed. Not wanting to believe she had lost one of her children, she shakily drew her wand and aimed it at the corpse. "R-r-riddikulus!"

With a crack Ron's body transformed into Bill's, spread out on his back, eyes wide open with an empty lifeless stare.

"R-riddikulus!" she sobbed again.

With another crack Bill's body was replaced with Mr. Weasley, his glasses cracked, and trickle of blood running down his face.

"No!" again and again she cast the spell but the boggart continued to torment Molly shifting through the forms of her children, each lying dead before her. But it was the boggarts final transformation into a dead Harry, that broke Molly's spirit as she realized that for all she knew, Harry could truly be gone.

As she sobbed over the image of a fallen Harry, Molly failed to notice someone sneaking up behind her. Suddenly a strange sensation swept over her as Harry's body vanished in a puff of smoke. Not even a second later the door to the attic swung open and Arthur, Sirius, Remus, and Bill charged into the room wands at the ready.

"Get away from my wife!" Arthur threatened, aiming his wand at the intruder, whose face was hidden in darkness.

"Wow that's some welcome" said the intruder, stepping into the open revealing himself to be none other than Harry Potter.

"Harry" they gasped.

"No one was at the house, so I decided to come here" Harry explained, as if it wasn't strange for him to be in their **secret** headquarters. "I know you've got questions but I think someone should look after Mrs. Weasley first."

Noticing Molly's destressed state Mr. Weasley, and Bill rushed to her side. At the same Harry walked past the stunned Sirius and Remus, along with the other present Order members, saying that he'd be willing to talk after he touched base with his friends, surprising a lot of them further with the fact he even knew who was in the old house.

* * *

Leaving the dumbfounded Order members behind, Harry easily made his way to a room on the lower floor. Once he stepped inside, Harry found his vision filled by very bushy hair – Hermione had taken the opportunity to throw herself onto him, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug.

"Hey, Hermione" Harry smiled, as his friend released him - only to have Ginny take the opportunity to deliver a hug of her own. "Hey Gin."

"Alright, let him breathe" Ron grinned, watching it all from his place on a twin bed on the side of the room. "Way to make an entrance mate."

Harry sheepishly rubbed the back of his head as he realized the last few months relying exclusively on his spirit energy had influenced him. It really said something when his first instinct had been to release his spiritual pressure rather than hit the boggart with a spell.

"Guess we don't have to ask if your trip went alright" said Ginny. They had all been surprised to suddenly sense Harry's spiritual pressure and considering how powerful he felt even now in human form, it made them all wonder just how much stronger has Harry become.

"Yeah, I'm better than ever" said Harry. "So what is this place? When I couldn't find Sirius and Remus at home I just followed their spiritual pressures here. So what is this place anyway?"

"Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix" said Ron.

"It's a secret society Dumbledore founded" Hermione explained.

"Oh yeah, they fought in the first war" said Harry, remembering a past conversation he had with his dad during a visit to the Soul Society. Speaking of which that reminded Harry, he still had somethings to go over with them and from the looks on their faces he could tell they had something to tell him too.

But before anyone could say anything they were interrupted by two loud cracks, as Fred and George materialized in the middle of the room.

"Stop that!" Ginny and Hermione snapped, but were ignored by the twins.

"Harry, good to see you" said Fred, beaming at him. "Quite a bit of trouble you caused with your disappearing act."

"Quite a bit in deed" said George, also beaming. "Up and disappeared. Threw us all for a loop."

"I see you passed your Apparation tests" Harry deadpanned. "So how did you know I was here?"

"With distinction" said Fred, holding what looked like a piece of long, flesh colored string.

"Would've taken you thirty seconds to walk down the stairs" said Ron.

"Time is Galleons, little brother. Anyway, Harry, we heard it all on the Extendable Ears" Fred explained, holding up the string, which Harry now saw was trailing out into the hall. "Yep heard them going mental over you."

"Yep the Order spent months trying to find you" said George. "Of course these three weren't blabbing" he added, pointing to Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. "Then poof here you are our dear Reaper."

Harry's eyes widened in shock as there was no reason for the twins to know anything about Soul Reapers.

"We didn't tell them" Ginny said quickly, noticing the look of betrayal on Harry's face.

"Heard it on the Extendable Ears" Fred explained. "First meeting, Dumbledore gathered the Order and told them all about you. Thought he was going mental until Sirius, Lupin, and Tonks backed him."

"Seriously, who would've thought little Harry was freaking death" said George, ignoring the angry look in Harry's eyes. "Course mom went mental when Dumbledore told them about what you guys did last summer."

 _Oh great_ Harry wasn't looking forward to dealing with Mrs. Weasley when she eventually confronted him about Ron and Ginny getting involved in the Fullbringer incident. Taking a calming breath Harry decided to focus more on getting up to date on what's been happening while he was away.

So Ron, Ginny, Hermione, and the twins explained that Dumbledore had gathered the Order in response to Voldemort's return. Apparently Snape was acting as a spy for the Order but Harry's personal feelings for the man, left him skeptical. As mentioned before the Order had been trying to track Harry down; while also working to recruit new members and guarding something, they had no idea what though – they weren't allowed in Order meetings.

* * *

Once he had been caught up on what's been happening in his absence, Harry followed by Ron, Hermione, Ginny and the twins marched into the dining room where Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix had gathered for a second time that night. Looking around the room, Harry noted Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Bill, and the actual Mad-Eye Moody were amongst the Order members. While he was a little curious about the identities of the members he didn't know, Harry's focus was on their leader, who sat calmly at the head of the table.

The room's focus was entirely on Harry and Dumbledore, watching as the Substitute Soul Reaper took a seat opposite from the headmaster.

"It's good to see you home safely, Harry" said Dumbledore. "I must say you gave us all a scare."

"I had some things I needed to take care of. I hope you haven't been spending all your time looking for me."

"I assure you Harry, we've been taking every precaution to prepare for Voldemort's next move."

"Yes including telling secrets that weren't yours to give." Harry noted the guilty expressions on Sirius, Tonks, and Remus' faces before turning his attention back to Dumbledore. "Care to explain that?"

"If we are all to stand against Voldemort, I thought it prudent for everyone to be aware of what we are facing" said Dumbledore. "Do you disagree?"

In truth while Harry was angry, he couldn't fault the logic. The Order was going to fight against Voldemort's forces regardless of what he said, at least if they knew about Soul Reapers and Hollows then maybe they wouldn't be caught completely off guard. In the end Dumbledore took Harry's silence as a begrudging acceptance.

"So it's all true?" Mrs. Weasley asked, clearly wanting to see Harry as the little boy she had first met on the platform in his first year.

And judging from the look on a good few of the Order members' faces, she wasn't the only one that had hoped Dumbledore's words would prove false.

"Yes, it's true" to make his point, Harry pressed his combat pass to his chest, shocking those that weren't in the know as his Soul Reaper form emerged from his body, leaving it to sit against the back of his chair, as he stood before the shell-shocked Order.

Mrs. Weasley fell back against her seat, as she struggled to accept there was more to Harry than she realized. When she heard about her son and daughter's exploits she had vehemently denied it, but now with the proof standing before he she would have no other choice to accept it.

"I assume your new additions are the reason for your departure" said Dumbledore, bringing them out of their stupor, while also noting Harry's new zanpakutō. "While I'm sure many of us appreciate the assurance that I have not lost my mind, I hope this means you'll lend us your power, Harry."

"Dumbledore, you can't be serious!" Mrs. Weasley objected. "He's just a boy."

"He's no boy" Moody disagreed, earning a harsh glare from Molly. "Look at him, Potter carries himself like a warrior. He's seen action."

Mrs. Weasley looked to Harry, desperately hoping he'd deny the accusation. But to her disappointment he confirmed that he had battle experience, he'd even taken life before. Now this got some cries of outrage from the Order members as they believed the act of killing to be reserved for Dark wizards but Harry wouldn't have them questioning his actions.

Releasing his spiritual pressure, Harry silenced the entire room as primordial fear welled up inside each of them. Their eyes widened in horror once they realized the source of the weight baring down on them was Harry with the exceptions of Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Tonks, Sirius, and Remus.

"I made a choice" Harry said firmly. "The enemy was threatening the lives of me, my friends, and while you weren't aware the entirety of the magical world. Sometimes you have to make the hard decisions and live with them. If you can't then you should leave now. As bad as you think the Death Eaters are the Hollows are much worse. No Stunning spell is going to save you from them."

In hindsight, Harry did think he sounded a little harsh but he wanted it to be clear that they couldn't afford to give less than their fullest effort to the battles ahead. And that was without Central 46's threat looming overhead.

But he couldn't worry about that now, so Harry turned his focus back to Dumbledore, and judging from the look in the headmaster's eyes, the wizard felt sure Harry would agree to lend his aid.

For a moment, Harry was tempted to refuse not wanting to risk once more becoming a pawn in Dumbledore's games. But it quickly passed as he realized that without his power as a Soul Reaper the moment Voldemort summoned Hollows to his side, the Order would be wiped out; Tonks couldn't hope to protect them all by herself. And of course Dumbledore almost assuredly had information, he could use about the Horcruxes.

So it made the most sense to work with the Order but that didn't mean he couldn't throw Dumbledore off his game a little.

"I'll work with the Order, on one condition" said Harry. He took great pleasure in wiping the pleased look off Dumbledore's face. "We want full access to any and all information concerning Voldemort's movements."

Everyone watched in disbelief that Harry had actually had the nerve to demand something of Dumbledore. They were all curious to see just how the headmaster would respond.

"Of course, Harry" Dumbledore agreed. "Welcome to the Order of the Phoenix."


	7. New Friend New Enemy

I do not own Bleach or Harry Potter the both belong respectively to Tite Kubo and J.K. Rowling

* * *

"Welcome to the Order." With that the tension slowly started to leave the room though not everyone was happy about having someone so young inducted into the secret society. The most vocal of which was Mrs. Weasley. Sirius and Remus were just surprised Harry had even agreed to work with Dumbledore. Then there were those like Moody that supported Harry's membership, seeing him as an important asset.

In the chaos of it all, it was Bill that caught the strange wording in Harry's demands.

"Wait, you said 'we want full access'?" he questioned.

"For myself, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny" Harry clarified. "They've been with me all this time; they deserve to be here."

"Absolutely not!" Mrs. Weasley cried.

"We've been with Harry every step of the way" Ron argued.

"We've even helped with his missions" Ginny added. "Besides, Harry would just tell us anyway."

Dumbledore quietly nodded his head in acceptance, while Mrs. Weasley turned to her husband for support. Strangely Arthur hadn't said a word about the whole affair, though Harry suspected the usually easy going man would be having a few words for him later.

Eventually Mrs. Weasley just had to give in, as nothing she said would convince Ron, Ginny, and Hermione to leave Harry's side. She did try to send Fred and George away though, but that didn't happen either as Mr. Weasley finally spoke to point out that the twins were now legally adults.

"I know your guarding the prophecy somewhere" said Harry, surprising the Order. "So what can you tell us about Voldemort so far?"

"So far Voldemort's been keeping quiet" said Sirius. "So far he's been focusing on researching the Peverell bloodline."

 _Probably has something to do with the Deathly Hallows_ , Harry thought. While he didn't like the hypocrisy, he thought it best to keep the existence of such objects as secret as possible.

"Severus has been keeping us apprised on their progress" said Dumbledore. Though Harry suspected 'us' meant 'me'. "In addition, he'll be focusing on rebuilding his forces. He knows you-and perhaps any other Soul Reaper allied with you-will be able to counter his Hollows. To compensate he'll most likely turn to a variety of Dark creatures. To this end I've sent Hagrid to go speak to the giants about joining us."

"But why would they want to help us?" Hermione questioned. "The Ministry of Magic has them hiding in the mountains."

"Even if he can't convince them to help us, we're hoping Hagrid can at least get them to not join Voldemort" Remus explained. "I've been doing the same for the werewolf community."

"Doesn't help that the Ministry's been denying You-Know-Who came back" said Tonks.

"They are?" Harry asked. "I figured they would've tried to bury it entirely."

"That would be my fault" said Dumbledore. "I've been doing my best to alert the people of Voldemort's return. As a result, Cornelius has become paranoid, that I am plotting to overthrow him as Minister of Magic. Am afraid it's already cost me my chairmanship of the ICW and my position of Chief Warlock on the Wizengamot. Though I am pleased to report I'm still on the Chocolate Frog cards."

"As for the prophecy about you and You-Know-Who, it's being guarded by those of us in the Ministry" Tonks explained. "Dumbledore suspect's he'll go after it eventually."

"And then I can finish him off" said Harry.

"That's my hope" Dumbledore confessed. "Now I believe that's enough for tonight."

"Not so fast, Albus" said Moody. "I've got a question for Harry. What can you tell us about these Hollows?"

So Harry gave an abridged version of what he knew about Hollows. Focusing on the key points that magic had next to no effect on them at all. And that they like any spiritual being couldn't be seen by ordinary humans, unless they were in a highly charged magical area. He even demonstrated this by leaving the house in his Soul Reaper form, and the Order watched as he slowly faded from sight as if he were being rubbed out by a pencil eraser.

Many of the Order members didn't like that it was standard practice for Reapers to alter the memoires of any human victim, but the Auror members of the group pointed out the Ministry did the same thing to muggles.

* * *

Eventually it was time for everyone to head home but to Harry's surprise Hermione ended up returning to Baker street with him, Sirius, and Remus.

"Um, Hermione shouldn't you be getting home?" Harry asked, unintentionally bringing tears to her eyes. "Hey, are you ok?"

"I-it's my parents" she sniffled. "I told them about what's been going on since the tournament. So they got angry when Dumbledore came to ask me about you."

"He sent them away" said Remus, noticing how difficult it was for Hermione. "He memory charmed them and sent them off somewhere."

"Said it was for their protection" Sirius spat. "Can't believe we ever worshiped that guy."

"What about the Order?" Harry asked. "No way the Mr. and Mrs. Weasley wouldn't stick up for Hermione?"

"They don't know" said Hermione, calming down. "No one in the Order knows. I don't want them to. Dumbledore probably did it as insurance."

Harry realized Hermione's theory made sense, as she would surely fight in order to bring about the return of her parents. And if Hermione fought, Ron, Ginny, and most importantly Harry would be fighting beside her, even if they refused to work with the Order.

"First Voldemort, then we go after Snape and Dumbledore" said Harry. "But there's something I need to tell you guys, and I don't want the Order to know."

So Harry told them about his meeting with the Central 46 and their decree. Needless to say they didn't like the threat of extermination any more than he did. Eventually Sirius and Remus decided that there was no problem as they'd finish off Voldemort before the Gotei 13 was forced to step in. Hermione on the other hand thought something was odd about the order.

"It just seems so extreme" she said. "With the Quincy they tried to handle things peacefully before anything else."

"That true" said Harry. "Plus even after the Wandenreich Invasion, they didn't go after the other Quincy like Uryū or Tonks and her dad."

"We must be missing something" said Hermione. "Something that would make them immediately take such extreme action. Plus, this Soul King's involvement."

Harry wasn't sure how to take the involvement of-for all intents and purposes-God in these matters. But he did suspect the mysterious being had more to do with the Central 46's orders than merely having him present.

"Alright, that's enough mystery tonight" said Remus. "Go to bed, you've got to catch the train tomorrow."

* * *

The next day, they met up with the Weasleys at the platform. Harry had sensed that had indeed been an increase in Hollow activity in London, and with it several more Reapers had been assigned to watch over the city. So for now he decided to leave it to them and focus his efforts on dealing with Voldemort.

As each of the kids boarded the train, Mr. Weasley pulled Harry aside asking for a quick word. Harry couldn't keep the worry off his face as he was afraid the man would tell him to stay away from his family. Instead Arthur had something to ask of the boy.

"Keep them safe, Harry" said Mr. Weasley, surprising the boy. "Molly and I had a long talk about everything. And while we aren't happy that you, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny are involved in something so dangerous, I realized you've all also saved lives as a result.

I won't pretend to understand whatever problem you're having with Dumbledore, or this Soul Reaper stuff. But if these people have earned your trust, then I trust your judgment. Merlin knows, those three would follow you anywhere. So all I ask is that you keep them and yourself safe."

"I will" Harry promised, touched by the faith Mr. Weasley had in him. "Thank you."

With that Mr. Weasley wished Harry a good year and let the boy board the train

* * *

Once onboard, Harry sensed out Ron and Hermione's positions inside the prefect car, reminding him that she had informed him about her and Ron's new status. So he went to go find Ginny.

As he moved down the corridor towards where he sensed Ginny sitting alone, Harry couldn't help noticing a lot of people looking out of their compartments to stare at him with great interest. For the life of him he couldn't understand why.

Eventually he tracked Ginny down but to his surprise, she wasn't alone. Sitting by the window was a girl with straggly, waist long dirty blonde hair, and silvery gray eyes that seemed to hold a permanently surprised look.

Strangely even at such a close distance, Harry couldn't seem to sense her soul at all. Yet at the same time there was a strange aura about her. Maybe it was the fact that she had stuck her wand behind her left ear for safekeeping, or that she had chosen to wear a necklace of butterbeer caps, or that she was reading a magazine upside down. But there was definitely something odd about this girl, that seemed so apart from the world, yet when her eyes landed on Harry, he had the feeling she could look straight into the core of his being, with a level of understanding beyond anyone he had ever met.

"Oh, there you are Harry" Ginny greeted, inviting him into the cabin. "This is Luna Lovegood. She's in my year, but in Ravenclaw."

"Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure" Luna recited in a singsong voice.

Harry raised an eyebrow, as Luna raised her upside-down magazine to hide her face and fell silent, while Ginny struggled to suppress her laughter.

"So did you have a good summer, Luna?" Ginny asked, prompting the girl to lower her magazine.

"Yes. Daddy and I went searching for Crumple-Horned Snorkacks" she smiled.

"A what?" Harry asked, trying to ignore the strange uncomfortable feeling Luna gave him.

And so Harry was subjected to an hour long lecture on the Crumple-Horned Snorkacks and the other creatures Luna and her father researched for the magazine she was reading, _The Quibbler_. Right around that time, Ron and Hermione turned up, just missing the food trolley.

"I'm starving" said Ron, stowing his owl Pigwidgeon next to Hedwig, accepting a Chocolate Frog from Harry, and taking the seat next to him.

"Rough meeting?" Ginny asked, as her brother leaned back and closed his eyes.

"Well, there are two fifth year prefects from each House" said Hermione, looking displeased as she took a seat. "Boy and girl from each."

"And guess who's a Slytherin prefect?" said Ron, eyes still closed.

"Let me guess, Malfoy" said Harry.

"Course" the Weasley boy said bitterly.

"And that complete cow Pansy Parkinson," said Hermione viciously. "How she got to be a prefect when she's thicker than a concussed troll."

"You should probably handle that Harry" Luna suddenly spoke up.

Harry was about to ask what she was talking about when suddenly the door to their compartment opened revealing Cho Chang, the Seeker on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team.

"Hi, Cho" Harry greeted, trying to figure out how Luna knew she was coming to their door.

"Um…well" Cho said uncomfortable, as everyone sans Luna, focused on her. "I just thought I'd say hello…bye then." She closed the door and left, blushing heavily.

"How did you know she was there?" Harry asked, making more of an effort to try and sense Luna's spiritual pressure. Yet he still failed to register anything from her.

But Luna didn't explain herself, instead focusing on her magazine for the rest of the trip.

* * *

Upon their arrival Harry was disappointed to see Prof. Grubbly-Plank was once again substituting for Hagrid, meaning his friend hadn't returned yet. Needing to speak freely, Harry nudged Ron, Hermione, and Ginny to a separate Carriage from Luna, where finally told them what he had or rather hadn't felt from the girl.

"I'm telling you there's something weird about that girl" said Harry.

"But Harry, how can anyone not have a soul" said Hermione.

"Luna can be strange but she's definitely not soulless" said Ginny. "You've shown us plenty of times what a soulless person looks like."

Harry had to admit they had a point. If his senses were correct Luna should've just been a lifeless shell, not walking and talking. Still he couldn't shake the feeling there was more to Luna than meets the eye.

Deciding to shelve the Mystery of Luna for the moment, Harry filled Ron and Ginny in about the situation with Central 46.

"So basically we got stop Voldemort or the Soul Reapers wipe us out" Ron summarized. "Bloody fantastic. You sure you can trust them not to just do it anyway."

"I trust the Gotei 13, Ron" Harry said honestly. It was the Central 46 that he was wary of. "Oh, that reminds me, here" he hands each of them a slip of paper with the same skull symbol of Harry's combat pass. "They're Soul Tickets. Ichigo gave them to me before I left. They used to belong to his friends but they never needed them, so he thought we might find a use for them."

Hermione, Ron, and Ginny stared at their tickets in wonder as they realized they would allow humans access to the Soul Society. They each carefully stored them away for emergence use before returning to their impromptu meeting.

"Well, we know the Death Eaters are looking into the Peverell bloodline, so that's probably a good place to start, to find out anything about the Deathly Hallows."

"Luna's dad likes to look into strange wizarding myths" said Ginny. "I'll ask her if he could maybe send anything he might've found on legends matching the Resurrection Stone. Maybe there's a clue on how to stop its powers."

While Harry wasn't sure about reaching out to Luna, he did like the idea of doing more than just waiting on Kisuke's research back in Karakura Town.

"And I'll try to pump Dumbledore about information on Voldemort's Horcruxes" said Harry, rolling his eyes when his friends shivered at the name.

With a plan set they quietly enjoyed the rest of the carriage ride up to the castle.

* * *

As with every year the entrance hall was ablaze with torches and the students' footsteps echoed out as they marched to the great hall and the start-of-term feast.

The four long House tables quickly filled with students, and again Harry noticed many of them were whispering about him. From the looks on their faces, he suspected his friends knew exactly the reason why. But before he could demand an explanation Hermione pointed up towards the staff table.

Follow her eyes, Harry initially spotted Dumbledore sitting in the center of the table, in his usual golden chair. The headmaster's head leaned toward the woman sitting next to him, allowing her to better whisper in his ear.

The woman was squat, with short curly brown hair, in which she wore a horrible pink hair band, that matched the fluffy pink cardigan she wore over her robes. When she turned to take a sip from her goblet, she revealed a very pale toad like face.

Harry didn't know who this woman was but somehow he got the feeling this year was already on a very poor start.


	8. Opening Speech

I do not own Bleach or Harry Potter the both belong respectively to Tite Kubo and J.K. Rowling

* * *

The sorting of the new first years came to an end and as with every year before they begin the feast, Dumbledore stood to give his opening speech.

"To our newcomers" Dumbledore's voice rang out, his arms spread wide with a beaming smile on his face "welcome! To our returning students – welcome back! There is a time for speech making, but this is not it. Tuck in!"

There was an appreciative laugh and an outbreak of applause as Dumbledore took his seat and food magically appeared on the House tables, leaving them groaning under the weight of the impressive feast prepared by the castle elves.

"Finally" Ron groaned with longing, as he seized the nearest plate of chops, pilling them onto his plate

"Didn't the hat sound strange this year?" said Hermione, wanting to hear her friends' opinions.

"I thought so" said Harry, with Ron and Ginny saying the same.

During the ceremony, breaking off its usual pattern of singing about the qualities of the four Houses, the Sorting Hat had instead spoken about the school standing together, against some sort of danger. It was strange as Harry couldn't remember a time when the Hat had ever given advice before.

"I wonder if it's ever given warnings before" said Hermione.

"It has indeed" said the Gryffindor ghost, Nearly Headless Nick, appearing above the table. "I have heard the hat give several warnings before, always at times when it detects periods of great danger for the school. And always, of course, its advice is the same: Stand together, be strong from within."

"Ow kunnit nofe skusin danger?" said Ron, his mouth completely stuffed.

Harry thought it was impressive he managed to get any sound out at all.

"I beg your pardon?" Nick said politely, while Hermione looked revolted, and Ginny just sighed and shook her head in embarrassment.

"How can it know when the school is in danger?" Ginny translated, long since used to her brother's lack of table manners.

"I have no idea" the ghost admitted. "Of course, it lives in the headmaster's office, I assume it picks things up there."

"And it wants all the Houses to be friends" said Harry, looking over to the Slytherin table, where Draco Malfoy was holding court. "Fat chance."

"Well, now, you shouldn't take that attitude," Nick said disapprovingly. "Peaceful cooperation, that's the key. We ghosts', though we belong to separate Houses, maintain links of friendship. In spite of the competitiveness between Gryffindor and Slytherin, I would never dream of seeking an argument with the Bloody Baron."

"Only because you're terrified of him" said Ron, having swallowed his food.

"Terrified? Never! I, Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, have never been guilty of cowardice in my life! The noble blood that runs in my veins…"

"What blood?" Though his work effort had improved in recent years, Ron's lack of understanding of the English langue has not.

"It's a figure of speech! I assume I am still allowed to enjoy the use of whichever words I like, even if the pleasures of eating and drinking are denied me! But I am quite used to students poking fun at my death, I assure you!"

Annoyed with Ron, Nick flew off to the other end of the table.

"Nick, he wasn't making fun!" Hermione called after him, but Nick wasn't in the mood. "Well done, Ron!"

"What?" Ron said indignantly "I'm not allowed to ask a simple question?"

Harry was tempted to remind Ron that spiritual beings could in fact bleed, under the right circumstances. After all, they had all seen him after his more difficult battles as a Soul Reaper. But thought it best to not get involved in Ron and Hermione's latest argument, and just chalked it up to him slipping back into an ordinary wizard's understanding of things.

"Have you thought about sending Nick off?" Ginny whispered to him.

"I keep offering but he wants to stay as long as he can" Harry explained. Remembering that a highly charged magical area can sometimes slow the rate of Hollowfication of spirits, Harry wasn't in a rush to send Nick off.

He did however keep a close eye on the progress of the Bloody Baron's chain. Though it was still plenty long, a Chain of Fate on a ghost in a place as charged as Hogwarts could only mean that encroachment was going to start eventually. Harry just hoped the Baron wouldn't have to leave until after he was finished at Hogwarts, as he didn't want to have to deal with the fallout of a missing House ghost.

Once the students had finished eating, and the noise level in the all had started to rise again, Dumbledore rose to his feet once more, silencing them immediately.

"Well, now that we are all digesting another magnificent feast, I beg a few moments of your attention for the usual start-of-term notices," said Dumbledore. "First years ought to know that the forest in the grounds is out of bounds to students and a few of our older students ought to know by now too." (Harry, Ron, and Hermione exchanged smirks.)

"We have two changes in staffing this year. We are very pleased to welcome back Prof. Grubbly-Plank, who will be taking Care of Magical Creatures lessons. We are also delighted to introduce Prof. Umbridge, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

There was a round of polite but fairly unenthusiastic applause during which Harry, Ron, and Hermione exchanged slightly panicked looks; Dumbledore had not said for how long Grubbly-Plank would be teaching.

"Tryouts for the House Quidditch teams will take place on the…" Dumbledore paused as Prof. Umbridge rose from her seat (not much taller standing than sitting) there was a moment when nobody could understand why the headmaster had stopped talking, but when Umbridge said "Hem, hem" it was clear she was intending to make a speech.

A brief look of surprise appeared on Dumbledore's face, but vanished just as quickly as he sat down, and looked attentively at Prof. Umbridge as though he wanted nothing more than to hear her speak.

Other members of staff were not as adept at hiding their surprise. Professor Sprout's eyebrows had disappeared into her flyaway hair, and Professor McGonagall's mouth was as thin as Harry had ever seen it. No new teacher had ever interrupted Dumbledore before. Many of the students were smirking; this woman obviously did not know how things were done at Hogwarts.

"Thank you, Headmaster," Prof. Umbridge smirked "For those kind words of welcome."

Her voice was high-pitched, breathy, and little-girlish and again, Harry felt a powerful rush of dislike that he could not explain. all he knew was that there was something about this woman that had him on edge.

She gave another little throat clearing cough and continued:

"Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say!" She smiled, revealing very pointed teeth. "And to see such happy little faces looking back at me!"

Harry glanced around but couldn't find even a single face that looked happy. On the contrary, everyone looked insulted that were being spoken to as if they were five.

Again Umbridge cleared her throat, but when she continued her voice lost some of the breathiness, and her tone had become all business.

"The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. And although each headmaster and headmistress has brought something new to this historic school, progress for progress' sake must be discouraged, for our tried and tested traditions often require no tinkering…."

As Umbridge's speech went on, Harry was sorely tempted to switch places with Mick and leave the mod soul behind in his place. But he couldn't bring himself to justify boredom as reasonable excuse to submit him to this kind of mind-numbing torment.

"… because some changes will be for the better, while others will come, in the fullness of time, to be recognized as errors of judgment. Meanwhile, some old habits will be retained, and rightly so, whereas others, outmoded and outworn, must be abandoned. Let us move forward, then, into a new era of openness, effectiveness, and accountability, intent on preserving what ought to be preserved, perfecting what needs to be perfected, and pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited."

Finally, her speech came to an end and Umbridge took her seat. Dumbledore clapped and the rest of the staff followed suit, though Harry noticed they only brought their hands together about once or twice before stopping. A few students joined in, but most had already zoned out and weren't fully aware that she'd finished.

"Thank you, Prof. Umbridge, that was must illuminating" said Dumbledore, standing once more.

"Yes it certainly was illuminating" Hermione said in a low voice.

"You're not telling me you enjoyed it?" Ron said quietly. "That was about the dullest speech I've ever heard, and I grew up with Percy."

"I think that was actually worse than his acceptance speech for 'when' he becomes Minister of Magic" said Ginny.

"I said illuminating, not enjoyable" Hermione clarified. "It explains a lot."

"About what?" Harry asked. "I thought she was just here to teach?"

"I think she's working for the Minister. Her entire speech was classic propaganda. She praises the Ministry and condemns anything that doesn't fit their traditional ideology."

"Guessing she won't like our resident revolutionary" Ginny smirked at Hermione.

* * *

Ron and Hermione left early to fulfill their prefect duties of guiding the new first year Gryffindors to the tower, leaving Harry and Ginny to make the trip on their own. As they left the great hall, Harry didn't miss the continued whispers, staring, and pointing as he passed.

"Hey Gin, am I missing something?" Harry asked at last.

"About what?" she asked, though she suspected.

"Oh nothing really, I was just wondering why everyone's already whispering about me. The year's just started I haven't had time to do anything yet."

Ginny sighed deeply, not wanting to be the one to tell him this.

"You know how the Ministry has been slandering Dumbledore in the papers?" Ginny asked, to which Harry confirmed he remembered. "Well, your name came up a lot during the first month before Sirius threatened to sue the Prophet. The Ministry backed off not wanting more bad press after Pettigrew…."

"But the damage's been done" Harry sighed. _Great just what I need on top of everything else._ There was also something else on Harry's mind. Something that he'd been putting off since his return, and with Ron and Hermione not around, now seemed like a good time.

"Um, Ginny...uh, you remember how we said we'd talk about...um, you know"

Ginny smiled at Harry's obvious discomfort and decided to have mercy on the poor boy.

"Harry, You've got enough to worry about. That can wait until everything is settled."

* * *

Once they reached the Gryffindor common room, Harry and Ginny said their goodnights and went to their separate dorms. Walking into the room, Harry saw that Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan had reached the dorm first, with Neville Longbottom coming in only a few seconds behind him.

"Hey, Harry" Dean greeted. "Good holiday?"

"Not bad" Harry replied. He had enjoyed his stay with the Kurosaki family, it would've been a perfect break if not for the looming threat on the horizon. But he could still honestly say it was the most relaxing summer he had ever had. "You?"

"Yeah it was ok" he chuckled. "Better than Seamus' anyway, he was just telling me."

"Why, what happened?" Neville asked.

"My mom didn't want me coming back to Hogwarts" Seamus grumbled. "She's been reading the Prophet and how they say Dumbledore's gone mental…and um"

"Enough said" Harry interjected.

He didn't want to hear about how the Prophet was connecting him to Dumbledore. In truth it was the headmaster's fault for dropping his name when he spoke to the students last year about Voldemort's return. In fact, he probably used his name when he tried to convince Fudge of the Dark Lord's return.

"My gran says that's rubbish" Neville piped up. "Says it's the Daily Prophet that's going downhill, not Dumbledore. We believe Harry."

Though he had given up on the fickle nature of the wizarding world's opinion, Harry still appreciated Neville's support. It was nice to have someone besides his usual group of friends supporting him for once.


	9. Prof Umbridge

I do not own Bleach or Harry Potter the both belong respectively to Tite Kubo and J.K. Rowling

* * *

The next morning Harry entered the common room just in time to hear the end of another one of Hermione lecturing Ron about something. Though at least this one seemed to be short lived.

"…because we're prefects, Ron!" he heard Hermione argue. "It's up to us to stop this kind of thing!"

"Do I even want to know?" he asked, getting their attention.

"Hermione's not too thrilled with Fred and George" said Ron.

 _That's a surprise_ Harry thought. He'd assumed Ron had put his foot in his mouth again. "What did they do?"

Ron pointed over to the common room notice board, where a large new sign had been put up.

 _ **GALLONS OF GALLEONS!**_

 _ **Pocket money failing to keep pace with your outgoings? Like to earn a little extra gold?**_

 _ **Contact Fred and George Weasley,**_

 _ **Gryffindor common room,**_

 _ **for simple, part-time, virtually painless jobs**_

 _ **(WE REGRET THAT ALL WORK IS UNDERTAKEN AT APPLICANT'S OWN RISK)**_

"Guess they're really serious about that joke shop" Harry laughed.

"This isn't funny" Hermione said seriously. "What if they test their jokes on first years?!"

"So just talk to them about not using anyone under a certain age" he suggested. "Hermione, you knew what was going to happen, when I asked you to give the twins the tournament money.'

Ron gave Harry a grateful look when Hermione gave in, knowing she couldn't deny she knew the very likely possibility. He hadn't wanted to try and stop Fred and George from doing what they did best.

With that issue resolved for the moment; the trio made their way to the great hall for breakfast, taking their usual spots at the Gryffindor table.

"So want to tell me why nobody thought to fill me in about me being in the paper?" Harry asked, giving his friends a pointed look.

The two traded nervous looks before it was finally silently decided that Hermione would speak for them.

"It's not that we didn't think it was important" she started carefully. "It's just that you have enough to worry about, and we were hoping after Sirius took care of it, no one would remember the articles anymore."

"It's fine" Harry sighed. "We really do have more important things to worry about."

"Nothing more important than Quidditch I hope." Harry turned to face his Quidditch teammate Angelina Johnson.

"Hi, Angelina."

"Hi," she said briskly, "good summer?" And without waiting for an answer, "Listen, I've been made Gryffindor Quidditch Captain."

"Nice" Harry grinned. He prayed Angelina's speeches wouldn't be as long-winded as Oliver Wood's had been.

"Yeah, well, we need a new Keeper now Oliver's left. Tryouts are on Friday at five o'clock and I want the whole team there, all right? Then we can see how the new person will fit in."

"Ok." Angelina smiled, and left to find the other members of the Gryffindor team.

"Are you going to be ok, Harry?" Hermione asked. "You've got a lot on your plate this year. Are you sure you can handle Quidditch too?"

Harry had to admit Hermione had a point. The current situation was tense with the Ministry, Voldemort, Central 46, Hollows, and their tentative relationship with the Order; it wasn't unreasonable for him not to be able to balance it all.

"I don't regret taking the job" Harry said honestly. It could be stressful sometimes but he was still proud to be a Substitute Soul Reaper. "But Quidditch will probably be my only chance to really relax for a while. I want to try and hold onto it for as long as I can."

Hermione nodded in understanding. She would just have to do her part to help anyway she could. She wasn't the only one though, as Ginny walked over to them with an accomplished smile on her face.

"I just talked with Luna" she explained. "She's going to ask her dad if he knows anything about the Hallows."

"That's great" said Hermione. "After class I'll start searching the library for anything about the Peverell bloodline."

Harry didn't say anything. While he appreciated the help, he still couldn't shake the unsettling feeling he had concerning Luna. Those thoughts were then quickly banished as McGonagall came around to deliver their schedules.

"I should've followed you, Harry" Ron groaned, looking at his class table. "History of Magic, double Potions, Divination, and double Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"I thought you were trying to do better in class?" Harry asked, remembering the extra studying Ron had been doing since the Fullbringer event.

"Binns, Snape, Trelawney, and that Umbridge woman all in one day. Harry you'd be complaining too."

"Good point." Harry took a look at his own schedule satisfied that he still had a free period where Divinations once was scheduled. But as he scanned the page he noticed a small note scrawled in the bottom corner reading: _**I enjoy Pumpkin Pasties**_

"What do you guys make of this?" he asked, showing the message to his friends.

"It looks like Dumbledore's handwriting" said Hermione. "I recognize it from when he first had me brought to the headquarters" she finished in a whisper, mindful of their surroundings.

"He probably wants to see you" said Ginny.

"Well it'll have to wait until after class" said Harry, as they students started to leave the great hall.

* * *

As expected History of Magic was as boring as ever. And guessing from the look on Snape's face as he entered the classroom, Potions was also going to be par for the course.

"Before we begin today's lesson" said Snape, sending a particularly nasty glare at Harry. "I think it appropriate to remind you that next June you will be sitting an important examination, during which you will prove how much you have learned about the composition and use of magical potions. Moronic though some of this class undoubtedly are, I expect you to scrape an 'Acceptable' in your O.W.L., or suffer my…displeasure."

His gaze lingered this time upon Neville, who gulped.

"After this year, of course, many of you will cease studying with me. I take only the very best into my N.E.W.T. Potions class – regardless of whoever you are – which means that some of us will certainly be saying good-bye."

The 'whatever you are' went unsaid but from the curl of his lip, when his eyes rested on Harry, it was obvious Snape was talking about him. Harry just glared back, not missing the traces of Voldemort's spiritual pressure coming from Snape's Dark Mark. That it was much stronger and felt more like a Hollow than the last time they were in the same room together, only made it far more tempting for Harry to want to introduce the potions master to his zanpakutō.

Potions class came and went and as expected the entire time Snape had tormented Harry, finding the smallest excuse to destroy the boy's work and fail him for the day.

"I should feed him to a Hollow" Harry glowered, as they left the classroom.

"You think he'd be nicer" said Ron. "I mean he knows what you could do to him."

"Ron!" Hermione chastised. "Harry can't just go throwing his powers around at anyone he doesn't like."

"It did shut Snape up for a while last year" said Harry. "I can see why my mom rid herself of him."

Hermione sighed, as they all knew full well that Harry wasn't normally the type of person to flex his power like that. If it weren't for the Horcrux in his scar influencing him at the time odds are he probably wouldn't have attacked Snape last year.

"He's probably just taking it out on Harry" said Ron. "I mean Remus and Sirius both know what Snape did and he knows they aren't going to let that go."

"And they wouldn't have found out if it weren't for Harry" Hermione followed.

"Guess he thinks if he can't go after them, he can take it out on me" said Harry. "Whatever, he'll get his in the end. Anyway this is my free period, I'll meet you guys at DADA."

* * *

Umbridge was already at her desk, when the class quietly entered the room. No one was sure just how strict an instructor she was yet, and no one wanted to be the first to find out.

"Well, good afternoon" she said, once the whole class had been seated. A few people mumbled in reply. "Tut, tut. That won't do, now will it? I would like you to reply 'Good afternoon Prof. Umbridge.' One more time, please. Good afternoon, class."

"Good afternoon, Prof. Umbridge" they chanted back at her.

"There, now," said Professor Umbridge sweetly. "That wasn't too difficult, was it? Wands away and quills out, please."

Many of the students wore gloomy expressions, as this surly meant they were in for a boring lesson. Once the students had their supplies out, Umbridge removed her own wand from her handbag, and tapped the blackboard, causing words to appear:

 _ **Defense Against the Dark Arts**_

 _ **A Return to Basic Principles.**_

"Well now, your teaching in this subject has been rather disrupted and fragmented, hasn't it?" said Umbridge, turning to face the class with her hands clasped neatly in front of her. "The constant changing of teachers, many of whom did not seem to follow any Ministry-approved curriculum, has unfortunately resulted in you being far below the standard we would expect to see in your O.W.L. year.

"You will be pleased to know, however, that these problems are now to be rectified. We will be following a carefully structured, theory centered, Ministry-approved course of defensive magic this year. Copy down the following, please."

She rapped the blackboard again; the first message vanished and was replaced by:

 _ **Course aims:**_

 _ **Understanding the principles underlying defensive magic.**_

 _ **Learning to recognize situations in which defensive magic can legally be used.**_

 _ **Placing the use of defensive magic in a context for practical use.**_

Once everyone copied down the course aims, Umbridge asked "Does everyone have a copy of _Defensive Magical Theory_ by Wilbert Slinkhard?" to which she received a dull murmur from the class. "That won't do. When I ask you a question, I would like you to reply 'Yes, Prof. Umbridge,' or 'No, Prof. Umbridge.' So, does everyone have their books?"

"Yes, Prof. Umbridge," rang through the room.

"Good. Turn to page five and read chapter one, 'Basics for Beginners.' There will be no need to talk."

Umbridge left the blackboard and settled herself in the chair behind the teacher's desk, observing them all as if under a microscope.

Harry's immediate thoughts on the book were just how dull it was. He wasn't the only one, that thought so. Several of the other students looked ready to fall asleep on the spot. But when he looked over to his right, Harry got a surprise to shake him out of his stupor.

Hermione hadn't even opened her book. Instead she was staring at Umbridge, hand held high in the air.

Harry couldn't remember Hermione ever turning down an opportunity to read any book that came under her nose. He looked at her questioningly, but she merely shook her head slightly to indicate that she wasn't about to answer questions, and continued to stare at Umbridge, who was determined to look anywhere but in her direction.

As the minutes passed, Harry soon wasn't the only one watching the silent faceoff. More than half the class had chosen to stare at Hermione rather than their books, forcing Umbridge to decide she couldn't ignore the situation any longer.

"Did you want to ask something about the chapter, dear?" she asked, as though she had only just noticed Hermione.

"Not about the chapter, no."

"Well, we're reading right now" said Umbridge. "If you have any questions we can deal with them at the end of class."

"I have a query about your course aims" said Hermione.

"And your name is?"

"Hermione Granger."

"Well, Ms. Granger, I think the course aims are perfectly clear if you read them through carefully."

"But there's nothing written about **using** defensive spells."

"'Using defensive spells'" Umbridge repeated, with a little laugh. "Why, I can't imagine why you'd need to use a defensive spell in my classroom. You surely aren't expecting to be attacked in class, are you Ms. Granger?"

"We're not using magic!" Ron exclaimed.

"Students raise their hands when they wish to speak in my class, Mr. …?"

"Weasley" Ron replied, thrusting his hand into the air.

With a smile on her face, Umbridge turned her back on Ron. Immediately Harry and Hermione also raised their hands. For a moment Umbridge's eyes lingered on Harry, and he had a feeling that her presence at Hogwarts had a lot to do him.

"I do not wish to criticize the way things have been run in this school" Umbridge said unconvincingly. "But you have been exposed to some very irresponsible wizards in this class, very irresponsible indeed, not to mention –" she gave a nasty little laugh, "extremely dangerous half breeds."

Harry's blood boiled at the obvious stab at Remus. He was about to speak up in his defense but someone else beat him to it.

"If you mean Prof. Lupin" Dean Thomas piped up angrily. "he was the best we ever…"

"And your name is?"

"Dean Thomas."

"Well, Mr. Thomas, as I was saying – you have been introduced to spells that have been complex, inappropriate to your age group, and potentially lethal. You have been frightened into believing that you are likely to meet Dark attacks every other day."

"No we haven't!" Hermione cried out.

"Your hand is not up, Ms. Granger!"

Hermione put her hand up, but as expected their toad faced professor turned away from her.

"It is my understanding that my predecessor not only performed illegal curses in front of you, he actually performed them on you…"

"Well, he turned out to be a maniac" Dean interjected.

"Your hand is not up, Mr. Thomas!" Umbridge shrilled. "Now, it is the view of the Ministry that a theoretical knowledge will be more than sufficient to get you through your examination, which, after all, is what school is all about. And your name is?" she added once Parvati Patil's hand went up.

"Parvati Patil, and isn't there a practical bit in our Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L.? Aren't we supposed to show that we can actually do the counter curses and things?"

"As long as you have studied the theory hard enough, there is no reason why you should not be able to perform the spells under carefully controlled examination conditions."

"Without ever practicing them before?" Parvati said incredulously. "Are you telling us that the first time we'll get to do the spells will be during our exam?"

"I repeat, as long as you have studied the theory hard enough…"

"You can't honestly believe that" Harry said loudly, his fist in the air again. "How are we supposed to be ready for the real world?"

"This is school, Mr. Potter" Umbridge said softly. "Not the real world."

"Isn't school supposed to prepare us for the real world?" said Hermione, hand in the air.

"The Ministry has everything under control."

"Oh yeah, the Ministry always has everything under control" Harry said scathingly. "Just like when they wrongfully imprisoned Sirius Black. Or when they weren't able to stop the Death Eaters at the World Cup last year. Or..."

"Enough!" Umbridge bellowed. "The Ministry is more than capable and has nothing but the interest of the people at heart. Furthermore …"

Harry stopped listening at that point. It was obvious that Umbridge was trying to gain Ministry support at Hogwarts. Fudge obviously needed it given the criticism he's been facing ever since it was discovered Sirius was innocent. In fact, the Ministry was still paying him reparations. That the Triwizard tournament - approved by Fudge's administration - resulted in the death of Cedric Diggory wasn't helping his reputation.

Regardless he wasn't sure how much longer he could put up with Umbridge's remarks and her insistence on speaking to them like they were five. So it came as a welcomed relief when his combat pass went off, alerting him to the presence of a Hollow.

Trusting Ron and Hermione to keep Mick out of trouble with Umbridge, Harry made the switch and took off. And first time Hermione found herself wishing she could get out of class just as easily as their toad faced professor continued to sing the praises of the Ministry.

"Cedric Diggory's death was a tragic accident. But I assure you that the Ministry is more than capable of assuring your safety" said Umbridge, eyeing who she believed to be Harry. "There is no reason to buy into the lies spread by certain individuals – that a certain Dark wizard has returned from the dead."

Hermione and Ron shared nervous looks as Umbridge focused on Mick; afraid of how the mod soul would take the not so subtle stab at Harry's integrity. But to their surprise, the mod soul didn't do anything more than just sit there, minding his own business.

 _Guess Mick took what I said to heart_ Hermione theorized, remembering the light bit of scolding she had given him the previous year, about responding appropriately to a situation.

Still Hermione couldn't help but notice the look of frustration on Umbridge's face as she returned to her seat, ordering the class to continue reading. It was obvious that for whatever reason she had wanted Harry to lose his temper and go off about Voldemort's return. It seems that since Sirius can keep Harry out of the press, then Fudge will get at him through the school.

 _Looks like we have more trouble to worry about. You better be careful, Harry._

* * *

Umbridge was the least of Harry's worries at the moment as he found himself facing off against a strange Hollow-like creature, high above the castle.

From the spiritual pressure alone, he could understand why his combat pass reacted but it didn't look like an ordinary Hollow. In fact, upon first glance it looked like a Death Eater; wearing the typical dark robes and silver skull mask.

Besides the fact that it was standing in midair the only visible evidence that marked it as being anything a Death Eater was the pair of forward pointed horns extending from the sides of its head, made of the white bone like material typical of Hollows.

"What are you?" Harry demanded, drawing his black Nakatsukasa sword.

But the Hollowfied Death Eater didn't answer, instead only speaking one word: "Cloak."

Without warning the Death Eater rushed down towards Gryffindor tower, completely ignoring Harry; who immediately intercepted it with a quick flash step.

 _Ok, so what do you want in the tower?_ he wondered. In truth he was a little unnerved by the Hollowfied Death Eater. Not because of its power; from what he could sense, Harry could finish it easily but rather what it could mean for the battles ahead. Still that just meant he needed to try and gather whatever information he could from it. "What are you after?"

Again the Death Eater didn't answer Harry's question. And once again it tried to simply go around the Substitute Soul Reaper. This time however, Harry wasn't going to give it the chance.

Charging forward, Harry swung his blade at the Death Eater, who to his confusion brought its arm up to block his zanpakutō. But as his blade struggled to cut through the limb, Harry discovered the reason why, as the torn sleeve of the Death Eater's robe fell away to reveal its Dark Mark; where Harry's zanpakutō had made only a shallow cut.

Pulling back his sword, Harry quickly flash stepped away as the Death Eater attempted to make a swipe at him.

 _Wait, why didn't it use its wand?_ Harry questioned. It wouldn't make sense for a Death Eater to try and handle things by hand. _Maybe it can't use magic anymore?"_

But the answer to Harry's questions would have to come from someone else, as suddenly the Death Eater's spiritual pressure grew incredibly unstable, fluctuating between that of a human being and Hollow, and its body began to disintegrate until there was nothing left of it.

With the Death Eater gone, Harry just stood there confused by what he had seen. The wound he had made shouldn't have been enough to cause that. And of course there was the questions of how a Death Eater could Hollowfy?

The only explanation Harry could come up with was the Resurrection Stone has more power than he realized. Still at least for the moment it seemed Voldemort's experiments were too unstable to be useful.

"Great as if things weren't crazy enough" Harry grumbled.


	10. Know Thy Enemy

I do not own Bleach or Harry Potter the both belong respectively to Tite Kubo and J.K. Rowling

* * *

"So you think You-Know-Who is experimenting on his Death Eaters" said Hermione.

After the strange run in with the Hollowfied Death Eater, Harry met up with his friends in the Gryffindor common room; where they filled each other in, as they sat around one of the more private tables.

"It's the only thing that makes sense" said Harry.

"It has to be the Resurrection Stone" said Ginny.

"Good thing he buggered it up" said Ron.

"Still, it's troubling that he can even try something like that" said Hermione. "Do you think the Central 46, knew the Stone could do that?" she asked Harry.

"I don't know. They said their records were lost during an attack on the Seireitei. I don't see why they'd have to lie about that considering I was with two captains. But it would explain why they jumped to such harsh methods."

"Maybe we shouldn't worry about it too much for now" said Ginny. "It won't make a difference what powers the Stone has in the long run."

"Right what matters is dealing with Voldemort" Harry agreed, leaving his seat. "Anyway I better go see what Dumbledore wants."

"Just try to get back before curfew" Hermione cautioned.

"Yeah, Umbridge is gunning for you" said Ron.

"Don't worry, I'll be careful." Harry promised, as he left Gryffindor tower.

* * *

Remembering the last time, he had been in the headmaster's office, Harry made his way to the seventh floor corridor where there was a single gargoyle statue positioned against the wall.

"Pumpkin Pasties" he told the statue, and the gargoyle moved aside; the wall behind it sild apart, revealing a moving spiral stone staircase, which carried Harry up to Dumbledore's office door. Sensing only one person inside, he opened the door to find Dumbledore at his desk.

"Good evening, Harry" Dumbledore greeted, seemingly not bothered by the fact Harry didn't knock. "I hope you had an enjoyable first day back at school."

"What did you call me here for?" Harry demanded, not wanting to waste time.

Dumbledore frowned slightly at the boy's tone, missing the days that Harry used to be in awe of him. But that time has passed and he must now focus on the here and now.

"I called you here to discuss certain matters" he said, in a businesslike voice. "Judging from the state of your scar, I'm assuming you've learned everything."

"You mean: how you've been letting me walk around, with a piece of Voldemort's soul in me" Harry said bitingly. "Anything else you think I'm too young to know about? Maybe you can tell me where you're keeping Hermione's parents?"

"I assure you and Ms. Granger that they are well" said Dumbledore.

"Considering that last time you promised to protect someone's family, you'll forgive my skepticism."

Dumbledore sighed, knowing he should've expected Harry to bring up his failure with the late Ravencroft women.

"Then I suggest we get to work" said Dumbledore. "The sooner Voldemort is defeated the sooner I will return Ms. Granger's parents."

With a flick of his wand Dumbledore summoned a shallow stone basin, etched with runic markings to his desk. "This is a Pensieve. With it we shall be visiting the memories of Bob Ogden."

"Who?"

"A former employee of the DMLE. He died some time ago, but I managed to persuade him to grant me a copy of his memories."

"And what does he have to do with stopping Voldemort?" Harry asked, starting to suspect this was another one of Dumbledore's games. "If this is another one of your tests…"

"I assure you, Harry, there is a method to my madness." Dumbledore pulled a crystal vial from his pocket, containing a swirling silvery-white substance, and poured it into the basin. "Now we simply look inside."

Not feeling all that trusting, Harry gestured for the headmaster to go first, to which he complied, leaning forward into the Pensieve until his entire body entered the magical object.

* * *

Following after Dumbledore, Harry found himself standing on a dirt road somewhere in the country side, bordered by tall hedges, beneath a bright clear summer sky. In front of them stood a short, plump man wearing immensely thick glasses that reduced his eyes to mole-like specks.

Harry assumed this was Ogden; he was the only one in sight, and he was wearing the typically hilarious result of a wizard attempting to blend amongst muggles.

Before he could once again ask why they were interested in the man, Dumbledore and Harry moved to follow as Ogden took off running down the dirt road. As they passed a sign post pointing after Ogden, Harry read: Little Hangleton, 1 mile.

They followed Ogden all the way to a hill overlooking the aforementioned village, where sat inside a valley between two large steep hills. As he looked over the village, Harry had the strangest sense of déjà vu.

He didn't have time to dwell on it though as they were forced to follow Ogden down into the valley. While he assumed they were going into the village, Harry was quickly proven wrong as Ogden instead went down a curve in the road that continued on the other side of a large gap in the hedges.

Dumbledore and Harry followed him onto a narrow dirt track bordered by higher and wilder hedges than those they had left behind. The path was crooked, rocky, and potholed, showing no sign of care. Still they followed Ogden until he finally came to a stop to in front of a dilapidated old house, half-hidden amongst tangled tree trunks.

Harry half assumed the house was abandoned before remembering there was supposed to be a point to this whole episode. There just had to be something significant about the house.

So he watched patiently by Dumbledore's side as Ogden drew his wand and cautiously approached the door, only stop as a man in rags dropped down from the trees, landing in front of him.

" _You're not welcome here"_ the man hissed, standing before them with thick hair matted with dirt. Several of his teeth were missing, and his small dark eyes stared in opposite directions.

"Um, good morning" said Ogden, taking a cautious step back. "I'm from the Ministry of Magic. I…"

" _You're not welcome"_

Harry shared Ogden's apparent confusion as neither of them could understand what the man was saying.

"It seems you've lost your ability to understand Parseltongue" Dumbledore observed.

"Guess so" said Harry. He wasn't going to miss it.

"Perhaps this will help" Dumbledore waved his wand, causing the world around them to shimmer only for a moment. "There that should make things easier."

The man in the rags advanced on Ogden, holding a knife in one hand, a wand in the other.

"Now, look" Ogden started, but it was too late.

There was a loud bang and next thing he knew, Ogden was on the ground, clutching his nose, while a nasty yellow goo seeped from between his fingers.

"Morfin!" a man shouted from inside the house.

Moments later an elderly man came rushing out. Shorter than the first, and oddly proportioned; his shoulders were very broad and his arms overlong, which, with his bright brown eyes, short scrubby hair, and wrinkled face, gave him the look of a powerful, aged monkey. He came to a halt beside the man with the knife, who was now cackling with laughter at the sight of Ogden on the ground.

"Ministry?" the elderly man asked, looking down at Ogden.

"Indeed!" Ogden said angrily, dabbing his face. "And you, I take it, are Mr. Gaunt?"

"That's right" said Gaunt. "Got you in the face, did he?"

"Yes, he did!" the Ministry worker snapped.

"Should've made your presence known. This is private property. Can't just walk in here and not expect my son to defend himself."

Ogden didn't appreciate the elderly man's aggressive justification of his son's actions.

"Defend himself from what?!" he demanded, getting to his feet.

"Busybodies. Intruders. Muggles and filth."

As Ogden pointed his wand at his own nose, stopping the flow of what appeared to be yellow pus, Mr. Gaunt, out of the corner of his mouth hissed at Morfin.

" _Get in the house. Don't argue."_

Morfin looked like he was about to argue, but quickly backed down once his father leveled him with a threatening look, leaving him to lumber away inside the house.

"It's actually your son, I'm here to see" said Ogden, as he cleaned the last of the pus of himself. "That was Morfin, wasn't it?"

"That was Morfin" the old man said indifferently. "You pureblood?"

"That's neither here nor there"

And like that Harry felt his respect for Ogden rise. Gaunt on the other hand felt differently, as he muttered in what was clearly supposed to be an offensive tone "Never seen noses like yours down in the village."

"I don't doubt it, if your son's been let loose on them," said Ogden. "Perhaps we could continue this discussion inside?"

"Inside?"

"Yes, Mr. Gaunt. I've already told you. I'm here about Morfin. We sent an owl."

"Got no use for owls" said Gaunt. "I don't open letters."

"Then you can't complain that you get no warning of visitors. I am here following a serious breach of wizarding law, which occurred here in the early hours of this morning."

"Alright, alright! Come in the bleeding house, won't do you much good!"

The house seemed to contain three tiny rooms. Two doors led off the main room, which served as kitchen and living room combined. Morfin was sitting in a filthy armchair beside the smoking fire, twisting a live adder between his thick fingers and crooning softly at it in Parseltongue.

A scuffling noise in corner of the room, alerted Harry to the presence of a girl by the window, whose ragged gray dress was the exact same color of the dirty stone wall behind her.

She was standing over a steaming pot on a grimy black stove, fiddling around with the shelf of filthy pots and pans above it. Her hair was lank and dull and she had a plain, pale, rather heavy face. Her eyes, like her brother's, stared in opposite directions. She looked a little cleaner than the two men, but Harry thought he had never seen a more defeated looking person.

"My daughter Merope" Gaunt said begrudgingly, as Ogden looked at her curiously.

"Good morning" he greeted.

She did not answer, but with a frightened glance at her father turned her back on the room and continued shifting the pots on the shelf behind her.

 _I wish I could help her_ Harry thought to himself, remembering his time with the Durselys. But it was only a memory, there was nothing he could do for the girl.

"Well, Mr. Gaunt," said Ogden, "to get straight to the point, we have reason to believe that your son, Morfin, performed magic in front of a muggle late last night."

There was a deafening clang, as Merope dropped one of the pots.

"Pick it up!" Gaunt bellowed. "That's it, grub on the floor like some filthy muggle, what's your wand for, useless sack of muck?"

Merope's cheeks burned, as she lost her grip on the pot, dropping it again. Shakily drawing her wand her pocket, she pointed it at the pot, and muttered a hasty, inaudible spell that caused the pot to shoot across the floor away from her, hit the opposite wall, and crack in two.

"Mend it you, useless lump!" Gaunt screamed, as Morfin let out a mad cackle of laughter.

Merope stumbled across the room, but before she had time to raise her wand, Ogden had lifted his own and said firmly, "Reparo" the pot mended itself instantly.

Gaunt looked for a moment as though he was going to shout at Ogden, but seemed to think better of it: Instead, he jeered at his daughter

"Lucky the nice man from the Ministry's here, isn't it? Perhaps he'll take you off my hands, perhaps he doesn't mind dirty Squibs…"

Without looking at anybody or thanking Ogden, Merope picked up the pot and returned it, hands trembling, to its shelf. She then stood quite still, her back against the wall between the filthy window and the stove, as though she wished for nothing more than to sink into the stone and vanish.

"You better have a good reason for us being here" Harry growled, struggling to control his temper at the sight of such horrific abuse.

"I assure you Harry, I take no pleasure in this either" Dumbledore replied. "But we must press onward."

"Mr. Gaunt" Ogden began again. "As I've said: the reason for my visit…"

"I heard you the first time!" Gaunt snapped. "And so what? Morfin gave a muggle what was coming to him – what of it?"

"Morfin has broken wizarding law" the Ministry worker said sternly.

"He taught a filthy muggle a lesson, that' illegal now?"

"Yes, I'm afraid it is"

Ogden unrolled a small scroll of parchment from his pocket.

"What's that, his sentence?" Gaunt demanded, his voice rising angrily.

"It is a summons to the Ministry for a hearing."

"Summons? Summons! Who do you think you are, summoning my son anywhere?"

"The Head of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad," said Ogden. \

"And you think we're scum, do you?!" screamed Gaunt, advancing on Ogden now, with a dirty yellow-nailed finger pointing at his chest. "Scum who'll come running when the Ministry calls? Do you know who you're talking to, you filthy little mudblood, do you?"

"I was under the impression that I was speaking to Mr. Gaunt."

"That's right!"

For a moment, Harry thought Gaunt was making an obscene hand gesture, but then he realized he was showing Ogden, the black-stoned ring he was wearing on his middle finger. Harry's eyes widened as he recognized the ring, as the one Voldemort wore during their graveyard battle.

"That's the Resurrection Stone" he gasped.

"Indeed it is Harry" said Dumbledore. "But I'm afraid there's still more to see."

They watched as Gaunt then made a show of pointing out the symbol engraved on the stone: A straight line running vertically through a circle, enclosed inside a triangle.

"Centuries this has been in our family. That's how far back we go, and pureblood all the way! Know how much I've been offered for this, with the Peverell coat of arms engraved on the stone?"

"I've really no idea," said Ogden, blinking as the ring sailed within an inch of his nose. "It's quite beside the point, Mr. Gaunt. Your son has committed…"

With a howl of rage, Gaunt ran toward his daughter. Harry was literally shaking with anger as he was forced to watch Gaunt drag Merope over to Ogden, by the gold chain around her neck.

"See this?!" he bellowed, shaking a heavy golden locket at Ogden, ignoring his daughter's desperate gasping for breath.

"I see it, I see it!" Ogden said hastily.

"Slythein's!" Gaunt yelled. "Salazar Slytherin's! We're his last living descendants, what do you say to that?!"

"Mr. Gaunt, your daughter!" Ogden said in alarm, but Gaunt had already released Merope; she staggered away from him, back to her corner, massaging her neck and gulping for air.

"So!" said Gaunt triumphantly, as though he had just proved a complicated point beyond all possible dispute. "Don't you go talking to us as if we're dirt on your shoes! Generations of purebloods, wizards all — more than you can say, I don't doubt!"

He then spat at Ogden's feet, eliciting more of Morfin's cackled laughter, while Merope silently bowed her head, hiding her face beneath her hair.

"Mr. Gaunt," said Ogden doggedly, "I am afraid that neither your ancestors nor mine have anything to do with the matter in hand. I am here because of Morfin, Morfin and the muggle he accosted late last night. Our information," he glanced down at his scroll of parchment, "is that Morfin performed a jinx or hex on the said muggle, causing him to erupt in highly painful hives."

Morfin giggled.

" _Be quiet, boy"_ Gaunt snarled in Parseltongue, and Morfin fell silent again. "So what if he did?" he said defiantly to Ogden. "I expect you've wiped the muggle's filthy face clean for him, and his memory to boot."

"That's not the point, Mr. Gaunt. This was an unprovoked attack on a defenseless…"

"I had you marked as muggle lover the moment I saw you" Gaunt sneered, and spat on the floor again.

"This discussion is getting us nowhere. It is clear from your son's behavior that he feels no remorse for his actions." Ogden glanced at his scroll once more. "Morfin will attend a hearing on the fourteenth of September to answer for the charges of using magic in front of a muggle and causing harm and distress to that same mug..."

Ogden paused, as the clopping sounds of horses and loud, laughing voices came in through the open window.

"My God, what an eyesore!" a girl's voice rang out. "Couldn't your father have that hovel cleared away, Tom?"

"It's not ours," said a young man's voice. "Everything on the other side of the valley belongs to us, but that cottage belongs to an old tramp called Gaunt, and his children. The son's quite mad, you should hear some of the stories they tell in the village"

The girl laughed. The clopping noise grew louder and louder. Morfin made to get out of his armchair.

" _Sit down"_ his father hissed.

"Tom" came the girl's voice again, sounding so though they were now beside the house. "I might be wrong but has somebody nailed a snake to that door?"

"Good lord, you're right!" Tom's voice cried out. "That'll be the son, I told you he's not right in the head. Don't look at it, Cecilia, darling."

The sound of horses grew fainter as they left the house behind.

"' _Darling'"_ Morfin whispered in Parseltongue, looking at his sister. _"'Darling,' he called her. So he wouldn't have you anyway."_

The blood drained from Merope's face so fast Harry was sure she was going to faint.

" _What's that?"_ Gaunt hissed sharply, looking from his son to his daughter. _"What did you say, Morfin?"_

" _She likes looking at that muggle"_ said Morfin, a vicious expression on his face as he stared at his sister, who now looked terrified. _"Always in the garden when he passes, peering through the hedge at him, isn't she? And last night"_ Merope shook her head frantically, imploringly, but Morfin went on ruthlessly. _"She was hanging out the window, waiting for him."_

" _Hanging out of the window to look at a muggle?"_ said Gaunt quietly.

All three of the Gaunts seemed to have forgotten Ogden, who was looking both bewildered and irritated at this renewed outbreak of incomprehensible hissing and rasping.

" _Is it true?"_ Gaunt hissed, stalking toward the terrified girl _. "My daughter — pureblooded descendant of Salazar Slytherin — hankering after a filthy, dirt veined Muggle?"_

Merope shook her head frantically, pressing herself into the wall, apparently unable to speak.

" _But I got him, Father!"_ Morfin cackled. _"I got him as he went by. Didn't look so pretty with hives all over him, did he, Merope?"_

"You disgusting little Squib. You blood traitor!" Gaunt roared, dropping out of Parseltongue, as he closed his hands around his daughter's throat.

"No!" Harry and Ogden cried.

Forgetting it was in fact a memory, Harry rushed forward, intending to pull Gaunt off the poor girl, only to pass right through the man.

At the same time Ogden raised his wand and cried out: "Relashio!"

Gaunt was knocked away from his daughter; sent tripping over a chair before falling flat on his back.

Enraged by the attack on his father – never mind that he saved his sister's life – Morfin leapt out of his chair and charged Ogden, brandishing his bloody knife and firing hexes indiscriminately from his wand.

Ogden had no choice but to run for his life. Dumbledore indicated that they ought to follow and Harry obeyed, Merope's screams echoing in his ears.

They watched Ogden dashed up the path and onto the main road, where he collided with a glossy chestnut horse ridden by a very handsome, dark-haired young man. Both he and the pretty girl riding beside him on a gray horse roared with laughter at the sight of Ogden, who bounced off the horse's flank and set off again.

"I think that will do, Harry," said Dumbledore. He took Harry by the elbow and tugged. Next moment, they were both soaring weightlessly through darkness.

* * *

When the darkness cleared away, Harry found himself back in Dumbledore's office, standing next to the Pensieve.

"What happened to Merope?" Harry asked.

"Oh, she survived" said Dumbledore, reseating himself behind his desk, inviting Harry to take a seat. "Ogden returned with reinforcements. Morfin and his father attempted to fight but both were overpowered and subsequently convicted. Morfin, who already had a record of muggle attacks, was sentenced to three years in Azkaban. Marvolo, for injuring several Ministry employees in addition to Ogden, received six months."

"Marvolo? As in Tom Marvolo Riddle?"

"As sharp as ever Harry. Yes, that man was Voldemort's grandfather. Marvolo, his son, Morfin, and his daughter, Merope, were the last of the Gaunts. A very ancient wizarding family noted for a vein of instability and violence that flourished through the generations due to their habit of marrying their own cousins. Lack of sense coupled with a great liking for grandeur meant that the family gold was squandered several generations before Marvolo was born. He, as you saw, was left in squalor and poverty, with a very nasty temper, a fantastic amount of arrogance and pride, and a couple of family heirlooms that he treasured just as much as his son, and rather more than his daughter."

"So, I'm guessing Merope is Voldemort's mother."

"Indeed. And is so happens that we also caught a glimpse of Voldemort's father as well."

"Tom. The man on the horse."

"Yes, that was Tom Riddle senior, the handsome muggle who used to go riding past the Gaunt cottage and for whom Merope Gaunt cherished a secret, burning passion."

"And they ended up married?" Harry found it hard to believe. Considering how smug Tom Riddle senior appeared to be, it seemed unlikely he would even glance twice at Merope.

"I think you're forgetting, that Merope was a witch. I believe that her magical powers were stunted by her father's abuse. Once Marvolo and Morfin were safely in Azkaban, once she was alone and free for the first time in her life, I am sure, she was able to gain full rein of her abilities and plot her escape from the desperate life she had led for eighteen years."

"So she bewitched him." The idea that someone could just spell someone into loving them, made Harry feel sick. At least he had Nakatsukasa to help keep his mind clear, most don't have that kind of protection.

"I'm sure it seemed more romantic to her. In any case, within a few months of the scene we have just witnessed, the village of Little Hangleton enjoyed a tremendous scandal. Imagine the squire's son running off with the tramp's daughter.

But the villagers' shock was nothing compared to Marvolo's.

He returned from Azkaban, expecting to find his daughter dutifully awaiting his return with a hot meal. Instead, he found a clear inch of dust and a note, explaining what she had done.

"From all that I have been able to discover, he never mentioned her name or existence from that day forth. The shock of her desertion may have contributed to his early death or perhaps he had simply never learned to feed himself. Regardless Azkaban had greatly weakened Marvolo, and he did not live to see Morfin return to the cottage."

"Wait he died?" that got Harry's attention. He knew for a fact that the Resurrection Stone's powers weren't limited by the owner's physical state. After all he'd seen it restore Voldemort's body after the Dark Lord had been reduced to ashes.

"I don't believe Marvolo had any idea what it was he held – let alone how to actually make use of the Stone's power."

Harry had to admit it made sense. If Marvolo was anything like his grandson – which seemed to be the case – he wouldn't have hesitated to sacrifice innocent souls for his own benefit.

"The ring was then passed on to his son, Morfin" Dumbledore continued. "Who also failed to unlock the powers of the Stone."

"But Voldemort was brought up in an orphanage, right?" Harry asked, remembering his run in with the Horcrux diary. "So I'm guessing Merope's spell on Tom Riddle senior didn't keep."

"I admit this is a great deal of guess work. But I believe that Merope, who was so deeply in love with Tom, eventually found she could no longer enslave him by magical means. Perhaps, she had convinced herself that he would have fallen in love with her in return. Perhaps, she thought he'd stay for the sake of their unborn child's sake. If so, she wrong on both counts. He left her, never saw her again, and never bothered to learn what had become of his son."

"Ok, so we learned Voldemort had a messed up family. You said Morfin never learned about the Stone's power, so at some point Voldemort found out about his uncle and took the ring for himself. So what does any of this have to do with stopping Voldemort?"

"I believe there is a muggle saying, Harry: 'Know thy enemy.' It is my belief that by tracing Voldemort's history, we can uncover the identities and perhaps even the locations of his Horcruxes."


	11. Tale of the Three Brothers

I do not own Bleach or Harry Potter the both belong respectively to Tite Kubo and J.K. Rowling

* * *

The rest of the week passed quickly after that first "lesson" with Dumbledore, who told Harry, he'd summon him again when he was prepared to continue their research into Voldemort's past. Personally, Harry suspected the delay was in some way the headmaster's attempt to properly get him back under his control. If this was the case the Substitute Soul Reaper wouldn't hesitate to show Dumbledore, that he wouldn't be led around by the nose anymore. Still the idea that the key to finding the Horcruxes was hidden within Voldemort's past was the best and only theory, Harry had at the moment so that meant playing nice for now.

On a more pleasant note, the Quidditch tryouts had gone well and to Harry's surprise Ron had chosen to take part; he'd been gifted a new broom as a reward for making prefect. Even better he had managed to earn a spot on the team as the new Keeper.

They were currently in the Gryffindor common room celebrating the formation of the new team. It had been decided by the group that they'd at least stay for a little while to celebrate the team before going back to researching anything that could help them find the other Deathly Hallows and how to stop their powers before Voldemort got his hands on them.

But from the exhausted Hermione dozing in an armchair by the fire – a half finished butter beer at her feet – she had clearly decided to go behind the other's back and continued working.

"She said she knew how much Quidditch meant to the rest of us" said Ginny, explaining Hermione's actions.

"I told her it was my only real chance to relax" said Harry. "She really took it to heart."

"Well that just means you better take home the Cup along with stopping You-Know-Who."

Harry rolled his eyes at the use of the moniker, unsure if Ginny was still following the superstition around Voldemort's name or if she was just trying to be subtle.

"Anyway, I better go talk to Ron, before he gets upset that Hermione's sleeping."

"Why would it bother him?" Harry questioned. Ron would understand that she was just tired. But then he remembered Ron seemed to take things far more personally where Hermione was concerned; both good and bad. "Never mind."

As Ginny left to speak with her brother, Angelina came up to Harry.

"Hey Potter, need to talk to you" she said seriously, frowning as she watched Ron try on Oliver Wood's old Quidditch robes. "I'll be blunt. I know he's your best mate, but he's not fabulous. I think with a little training he'll be alright though. I'm banking on him turning out a bit more talent than he showed today."

Harry frowned, thinking perhaps he'd been bias but he had thought Ron had done well at the tryouts. But now that he thought about it, Ron hadn't been performing to the usual standard he'd shown whenever he was at the Burrow.

"It was just nerves" said Harry, defending his friend. "I've seen him play before."

"At home, I'm guessing" said Angelina. "Problem is nerves is a big part of playing on a House team. Look I'm scheduling a practice session for tomorrow at two. Just do what you can to help Ron as much as you can."

Harry nodded and Angelina walked away. He then walked over to the sleeping Hermione, and placed a hand on her shoulder, jerking her awake.

"Oh, Harry, it's you" she yawned, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "I'm glad Ron made the team. We should hurry and get started on researching other possible descendants."

"You've done plenty" Harry smirked, pointing to Hermione's face. "You've got drool on your chin."

Red faced, Hermione rubbed moved to wipe away the offense, only find not a trace of saliva on her skin.

"Not funny" said Hermione, glaring at the smug look on Harry's face. "You know full well how important this is."

"Trust me, I haven't forgotten. But you'll be no good to anyone if you run yourself into the ground."

Hermione wanted to argue but a sudden yawn crushed that notion.

"Alright, tell Ron, I'm sorry. I'm going to bed."

"Don't worry, Ginny's already done an intervention."

* * *

"What's wrong Harry?" Ginny asked Harry, at breakfast the next morning. "You didn't run into any problems last night, did you?"

"No and that's just the problem" said Harry. "I must've patrolled the area for hours. I even went out to the mountains outside Hogsmeade but I didn't see a single one of those weird Hollowfied Death Eaters. Nothing but ordinary Hollows."

"That's what's bothering you?" Ron said incredulously. "Isn't that a good thing?"

"I don't know. The one from before kept trying to break into Gryffindor tower. You'd think Voldemort would've tried again."

"You said the last one self-destructed" said Hermione. "Obviously, he can't send them out to serve his plans until they're perfected. I doubt you'll be seeing them again for a while. Still it does make you wonder what he could possibly want from the Gryffindor tower."

"The only thing the Death Eater said was 'cloak'" said Harry. "Maybe one of the Hallows is a cloak."

"It could even be hidden somewhere in the tower" said Ginny, getting excited grins from Ron and Harry.

"We can't be sure of anything until we have more information" Hermione chastised. "We need all the facts before we go rushing in. Remember when we thought Snape was the one after the Philosopher's Stone."

"Well, we weren't wrong not to trust him" Harry said darkly, as the morning post arrived, dropping off Hermione's usual copy of the Daily Prophet.

"Anything interesting?" Ron asked.

"No" she sighed. "Just some stuff about the bass player in the Weird Sisters getting married…"

"What?" Ginny gasped, taking the paper from Hermione. "I can't believe it."

Harry and Ron just rolled their eyes at the rare display of Ginny showing what they could only guess to be typical teenage girl behavior.

"What's with her?" Harry asked.

"The Weird Sisters are Ginny's favorite band" Ron explained. "Any other important news?"

Ginny shot her brother a look before composing herself and surrendered the newspaper back to Hermione, who promptly went back to searching for anything of note.

"Look at this" said Hermione, spreading the paper out on the table for them all to read.

The article in question was barely an inch long titled:

 **TRESPASS AT MINISTRY**

 **Sturgis Podmore, 38, of number two, Laburnum Gardens, Clapham, has appeared in front of the Wizengamot charged with trespass and attempted robbery at the Ministry of Magic on 31st August. Podmore was arrested by Ministry of Magic watch wizard Eric Munch, who found him attempting to force his way through a top-security door at one o'clock in the morning. Podmore, who refused to speak in his own defense, was convicted on both charges and sentenced to six months in Azkaban.**

"Who's Sturgis Podmore?" asked Harry.

"He's one of the Order members" Ginny whispered. "Do you think he was on a mission?"

"I don't know. If he was shouldn't we have heard about it" said Hermione.

"He probably didn't even go" said Ron, at his friends' confused looks he explained. "The prophecy is hidden inside the Ministry; it's the bait that'll eventually draw out You-Know-Who. It doesn't make any sense to move it, otherwise he'll never be exposed and Dumbledore's name won't be cleared.

I think the Ministry suspected he was one of Dumbledore's people so – I don't know – they lured him there and just made something up to get him."

There was a pause while Harry, Ginny, and Hermione considered this. Given Fudge's extreme paranoia and how deep he was in Lucius Malfoy's pocket it was entirely possible.

"Anyway, I'm going to go find Luna" said Ginny, leaving the table. "Maybe her dad's gotten back to her."

Once Ginny left, Hermione then folded up the newspaper to address another serious matter. It was of course preparation for their O.W.L.s at the end of the year. Needless to say, Ron and Harry immediately took off for the Quidditch pitch, not wanting to get drawn into one of Hermione's study sessions so early in the year.

Something that Hermione did not appreciate, warning them that they'd fail their exams if they didn't put the work in.

* * *

Later that afternoon Harry and Ron returned to the Gryffindor common room, after a rough practice with the Quidditch team, finding Hermione waiting for them.

"How was practice?" Hermione asked coldly, obviously still displeased with them.

"It was…" Harry struggled to find the words, but Ron didn't have that problem.

"Completely lousy" said Ron, sinking into a chair beside her.

Hermione's frostiness seemed to melt, as she took in Ron's forlorn appearance.

"It was only your first practice" she said consolingly. "It's bound to take…"

"Who said it was me who made it lousy?" Ron snapped defensively. "You think I'm bound to be rubbish?"

"No I didn't say that" said Hermione, but Ron wasn't listening, opting to stomp angrily up to the boy's dormitory, saying he was going to get started on his homework. "Was he lousy?" she asked Harry, who had tried to stay out of it.

"No" he said loyally. Hermione gave Harry a disbelieving look. "He could've been better" he admitted. "Malfoy and the Slytherin team were watching. They started messing with him"

"And Ron got nervous" she said sympathetically.

"Yeah, but like you said it was only the first training session. I'm sure he'll get better."

Having fallen behind on his own homework, Harry joined Ron in working through the pile of assignments given to them. Though they didn't make much progress that night, Ron was too focused on his poor performance at Quidditch practice and while Harry himself wasn't pleased by the turn of events, the real hold up was his near constant need to run off and deal with Hollow alerts.

Despite the ideal weather on Sunday, the boys found themselves spending it in the common room, buried in their books – though more for Harry's benefit than Ron's as even with having one more class than him, his Hollow hunting had Harry falling behind his friend.

"Hey brought you guys some dinner" said Hermione, as she and Ginny walked into the room, each carrying a small plate for them.

"Thanks" Ron grinned, happily putting his homework aside to eat.

"Still going at it?" Ginny asked, as the girls sat down to join them.

"Yeah" Harry sighed. "Ron's almost done but I've still got to work on an essay for Prof. McGonagall" he finished with a scowl at the smug look on his best friend's face. "Can't you help me out a little, Hermione?"

"I would've helped you both yesterday" she said shortly. "That is, if you hadn't decided to ditch me to go down to the Quidditch pitch early before practice."

Hermione glanced apologetically at Ron, who's mood soured at the indirect reminder of his less than stellar performance. His mood fell even further when suddenly they noticed a screech owl standing on the nearest windowsill.

"Oh great, it's Percy" Ron groaned, recognizing the owl as his older brother's, and getting to his feet.

"Something wrong with Percy?" Harry quietly asked Hermione, noticing that Ginny didn't look particularly happy either.

"Percy's chosen to side with the Ministry" she explained. "Sorry, I didn't want to bring it up."

"It's ok." Harry could understand why. If Ron and Ginny's reactions were anything to go by then Percy obviously didn't leave on good terms with the rest of the Weasleys.

"You might as well open it" said Ginny, as Ron hesitated to open the letter.

Though neither of them were pleased it was still the first any of them had heard from Percy since he split from their family, so reluctantly Ron opened the letter. He came to regret it through, as his scowl became more and more pronounced the longer he read it, before handing the parchment to Ginny, who with Ron's approval threw it into the fire place in disgust.

Ginny then pulled out a scroll of parchment of her own, from her bag, unrolling it in the middle of their table.

"I was going to wait until after you two finished" she said. "but after listening to that pompous windbag we need some good news. Luna gave this to me at dinner. It's the response from her dad. He also sent this" she held up an old leather bound book titled: The Tales of Beedle the Bard.

"Let's look at the letter first" said Hermione.

Together they looked over the letter, hoping Mr. Lovegood would explain why he'd sent them an old book.

 _ **It warms my heart to learn of more believers in the Deathly Hallows. Not many wizards believe in the old legends now days. To aid your quest, I've included my own original copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard. The Tale of the Three Brothers holds the key.**_

 _ **Good hunting,**_

 _ **Xenophilius Lovegood**_

"What's an old story book supposed to tell us?" said Ron.

"Story book?" Harry asked.

" _The Tales of Beedle the Bard_ , is an old wizarding story book" Ginny explained. "Our mom used to read it too us. Including the Tale of the Three Brothers."

"We won't get anywhere just sitting around" said Hermione, taking the book from Ginny. "I'll read."

Once Hermione opened the book, Harry noticed that the pages referring to the Three Brothers were all bearing the symbol he saw engraved on the Resurrection Stone. When he said as such it filled them with confidence that they were on the right track.

Hermione gave a small cough, to clear her throat and began reading.

"' _There were once three brothers who were traveling along a lonely, winding road at twilight…'"_

"Midnight" Ron interrupted. "Our mom always told us midnight." Hermione gave him an annoyed look. "Sorry. Just think it's spookier at midnight."

"Please continue, Hermione" Ginny prompted.

"' _In time, the brothers reached a river too deep to wade through and too dangerous to swim across. However, these brothers were learned in the magical arts, and so they simply waved their wands and made a bridge appear across the treacherous water. They were halfway across it when they found their path blocked by a hooded figure. And Death spoke to them…'"_

"What" Harry interjected. "Death spoke to them?"

"Maybe it's supposed to be a Soul Reaper" Ginny suggested.

"I don't know. It sounds more like the traditional idea of the Grim Reaper to me."

"Can I just finish, please" said Hermione, frustrated with the interruptions.

"Sorry" said Ginny and Harry.

"' _And Death spoke to them. He was angry that he had been cheated out of three new victims, for travelers usually drowned in the river. But Death was cunning. He pretended to congratulate the three brothers upon their magic, and said that each had earned a prize for having been clever enough to evade him._

 _The eldest brother, who was a combative man, asked for a wand more powerful than any in existence: a wand that must always win duels for its owner, a wand worthy of a wizard who had conquered Death! So, Death crossed to an elder tree on the banks of the river, fashioned a wand from one of its branches, and gave it to the eldest brother._

 _The middle brother, who was an arrogant man, decided that he wanted to humiliate Death further, and asked for the power to recall others from Death. So, Death picked up a stone from the riverbank and gave it to the brother, and told him that the stone would have the power to bring back the dead._

 _The youngest brother was the humblest and wisest of the brothers, and he did not trust Death. So, he asked for something that would enable him to go forth from that place without fear of being followed by Death. And Death, most unwillingly, handed over his own Cloak of Invisibility.'"_

"Soul Reaper or not, it sounds like a real generous bloke" said Ron. "Sorry, Hermione" he said quickly, once more on the receiving end of the girl's glare.

"' _Then Death stood aside and allowed the three brothers to continue on their way, speaking with wonder of the adventure they had, and admiring Death's gifts. In time the brothers went their separate ways._

 _The eldest brother traveled on for a week or more, reaching a distant village, where he sought out a fellow wizard with whom he had a quarrel. Naturally with the Elder wand as his weapon, he could not fail to win the duel that followed. Leaving his enemy dead on the floor, the eldest brother proceeded to an in, where he boasted loudly of the powerful wand he had taken from Death himself, and how it made him invincible._

 _That very night, another wizard crept upon him as he lay, wine-sodden, in his bed. The thief took the wand and for good measure, slit the eldest brother's throat. And so, Death took the first brother for his own._

 _Meanwhile, the middle brother journeyed home, where he lived alone. Here he took the stone that had the power to recall the dead, and turned it thrice in his hand. To his amazement and his delight, the figure of the girl he had once hoped to marry, before her untimely death, appeared before him._

 _Yet she was sad and cold, separated from him as by a veil. Though she had returned to the mortal world, she did not truly belong there and suffered. Driven mad by hopeless longing, the middle brother killed himself so-as-to truly join her. And so, Death claimed the second brother._

 _But though Death searched for the third brother for many years, he was never able to find him. It was only when he had attained a great age that the youngest brother finally took of the Cloak of Invisibility and gave it to his son. He then greeted Death as an old friend, and went with him gladly and as equals, they departed from this life.'_ "

"Well they got a few details wrong" Harry commented, as Hermione closed the book.

"It's a fairytale" Hermione lightly scolded. "It's obviously been romanticized at least a little." Though she wasn't sure how much one could romanticize about Death tricking people. "It's still a good lead. We just need to analyze the text and add real world context."

"Well first step would be the Hallows" said Ginny. "We now know there's a wand and cloak, in addition to the Resurrection Stone."

"And that Death Eater came here looking for a cloak" said Harry. "So maybe Voldemort thinks it's here in the Gryffindor tower."

"An invisibility cloak that can hide you from death" said Hermione, pondering the words.

"Sounds like Harry's cloak" said Ron, causing the others to give him questioning looks. "Remember when we were looking for Hermione? Harry's mom was going over all the ways to hide spiritual pressure."

"And she said my dad's cloak was the only one that she'd seen with that ability" said Harry. "The Death Eater was sent after my cloak." That was when he remembered Dumbledore had borrowed the cloak from his father to study it. Perhaps the headmaster knew more about the Hallows than he was letting on.

"Then it couldn't be safer" said Ginny. "You always carry it with you, anyway."

"And we know, You-Know-Who, has the Resurrection Stone" said Ron, ignoring Harry's eye roll at his unwillingness to say Voldemort's name.

"So that just leaves the Elder Wand" said Hermione. "Assuming we're correct in the assumption that the brothers in the story are in fact the Peverell brothers then the key to finding the wand starts with tracking the eldest brother's history. If we can find confirmation he was murdered, and find the identity of his killer, then we can possibly track the Wand's movements.

"It's not going to be easy" said Harry. "Even if the Ministry was around back then, I doubt they'll just let us go through their records."

"Can the Soul Society help?" Ginny asked.

"No, they don't keep records of every soul that comes and goes, only Soul Reapers."

"So our only hope, is some idiot started yelling about having an unbeatable wand" said Ron.

"At least it's a start" said Hermione.


	12. Evil in the Making

I do not own Bleach or Harry Potter the both belong respectively to Tite Kubo and J.K. Rowling

* * *

The next morning Harry and his friends were in for a surprise. The delivery owls didn't even have time to clear the table, before Hermione let out a huge gasp and spread her morning newspaper on the table, revealing a large photo of Umbridge, beneath the headline:

 **MINISTRY SEEKS EDUCATIONAL REFORM**

 **DOLORES UMBRIDGE APPOINTED FIRST-EVER "HIGH INQUISITER"**

"High Inquisitor?" Harry said darkly. "Any idea what that means?"

Hermione read aloud:

" _ **In a surprising move last night the Ministry of Magic passed new legislation giving itself an unprecedented level of control at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.**_

' _ **The Minister has been growing uneasy about the goings-on at Hogwarts for some time' said Junior Assistant to the Minister, Percy Weasley. 'He is now responding to the concerns of parents, who feel the school may be moving in a direction they do not approve of.'**_

 _ **This is not the first time in recent weeks Minister Fudge has used new laws to effect improvements at Hogwarts. As recently as August 30**_ _ **th**_ _ **Educational Decree Twenty-two was passed, to ensure that in the event of the current headmaster being unable to provide a candidate for a teaching post, the Ministry would provide one.**_

' _ **That's how Dolores Umbridge came to be appointed to the teaching staff at Hogwarts' said Weasley. 'Dumbledore couldn't find anyone, so the Minister sent Madam Umbridge, and of course she's been an immediate success…'**_

"She's been a what?" Harry said incredulously. They'd only had one class with the woman so far and it was already clear she wasn't planning on teaching them anything remotely useful.

"There's more" Hermione said grimly.

"'… _ **an immediate success, totally revolutionizing the teaching of Defense Against the Dark Arts and providing the Minister with on-the-ground feedback about what's really-happening at Hogwarts, which has now been formalized with the passing of Educational Decree Twenty-three, which creates the new position of 'Hogwarts High Inquisitor.'**_

 _ **The Inquisitor will have the powers to inspect her fellow-educators and make sure that they are up to scratch. Prof. Umbridge has been offered this position in addition to her own teaching post, and we are pleased to say she has accepted.'**_

 _ **The Ministry's new involvement at Hogwarts has been met with parents' support.**_

' _ **I feel much more at ease not that I know that Dumbledore is being subjected to fair and objective evaluation' said Lucius Malfoy. 'Many of us parents have been concerned with some of Dumbledore's eccentric decisions in the last few years and are glad to know the Ministry is keeping an eye on the situation.'**_

 _ **Among those 'eccentric decisions' are undoubtedly the controversial staff appointments previously described in this newspaper, which have included the hiring of werewolf Remus Lupin, half giant Rubeus Hagrid, and delusional ex-Auror 'Mad-Eye' Moody.**_

 _ **Rumors abound, of course, that Albus Dumbledore, once Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, is no longer up to the task of managing the prestigious school of Hogwarts.**_

' _ **I think the appointment of the Inquisitor is a first step toward ensuring that Hogwarts has a headmaster in whom we can all repose confidence' said a Ministry insider.**_

 _ **Wizengamot elders Griselda Marchbanks and Tiberius Ogden have resigned in protest at the introduction of the post of Inquisitor to Hogwarts.**_

' _ **Hogwarts is a school, not an outpost of Cornelius Fudge's office,' said Madam Marchbanks. 'This is a further disgusting attempt to discredit Albus Dumbledore.' (For a full account of Madam Marchbanks' alleged links to subversive goblin groups, turn to page 17)**_ "

"I feel torn" said Harry, once Hermione finished reading, a sentiment she shared.

It was understandable given the depths of Dumbledore's manipulations. Any other time, they would've felt the old man was finally getting what was coming to him. It was just too bad it came in the form of a paranoid Minister and his pet toad.

"This is an outrage" Hermione practically snarled. "First that idiot sends Umbridge here, and now she's being given the power to disrupt our other classes."

"I'm scared" Ginny said quietly, not liking the murderous look in Hermione's eyes.

"If only looks could kill" said Harry.

"This is great" said Ron, a grin spreading across his face.

"What?" said Harry, Ginny, and Hermione, all staring at him.

"Oh, I can't wait until she tries to inspect McGonagall" Ron said happily. "Umbridge won't know what hit her."

This got a laugh out of the group, as none of them could imagine their Head of House, cowering to anyone let alone Umbridge.

"What's wrong?" Ginny asked, noticing a strange look on Harry's face.

"I was just thinking" said Harry. "The world's slowly going to hell and we're still finding time to just laugh at stuff like this."

"Well we're still working on researching the Hallows, so who cares if we have a laugh along the way."

"That's one thing Fred and George got right" Ron agreed with his sister.

They all knew there would be battles ahead. Now was the time to have a laugh, for no one was sure just how long these peaceful times would last. For now, the laughs were put aside as Hermione rushed Ron and Harry along to their first class of the day, saying she didn't want to be late in case Umbridge was inspecting their history class, and telling Ginny they'd meet up later to begin their efforts to locate the Elder Wand.

But Umbridge wasn't inspecting their History of Magic class, which was as dull as ever, making Harry wonder why he didn't just hurry up and send Binns off to the Soul Society. Nor was she in their double Potions class, Harry was subjected to Snape's usual display of bias against him.

"Well that wasn't as bad as last week" said Hermione, as they left the dungeons and their way towards lunch. "And the homework wasn't too bad either, right?"

When neither Ron nor Harry answered, she pressed on.

"I mean, I didn't expect the top grade, not if he's marking to O.W.L. standards, but a pass is quite encouraging at this stage. Of course a lot can happen between now and the grades were getting now are a sort of baseline, aren't they? Something we can build on…"

"Hermione" Ron said sharply. "If you want to know what we got, just ask."

Hermione flushed, she had been trying and failing to be subtle. Rolling their eyes, Harry and Ron each handed Hermione their last graded assignments from Snape, each neither of them did very well, with Ron beating Harry's 'Dreadful' with his grade of 'Poor'. This of course set Hermione off on needing to find time to include studying in their days, apparently forgetting that their O.W.L. scores wouldn't matter if they didn't spend their time trying to figure out how to stop Voldemort.

Which just set the young witch off on a new tangent, when Harry said as much.

"What's got Hermione so upset?" Ginny asked, once they arrived at the table.

"Prepping for our O.W.L.s" said Harry. "Ok, Hermione, I'll try to find more time to study. I promise."

"See that you do" she said victoriously.

"Well, if it isn't scary Harry" said Fred, who had just arrived with George. "Isn't he terrifying, brother of mine?"

"Deathly terrifying" said George.

"Alright, already" Harry groaned. He should've known the twins would try to have a laugh about his Reaper status eventually. "What do you want?"

"Just wondering if you lot had an inspected lesson yet?" Fred asked them.

"No" said Hermione, with Ginny saying the same. "Have you?"

"Just now, before lunch" said George. "Charms."

"What was it like?" asked Ginny.

"Not that bad" Fred shrugged. "Umbridge just lurked in the corner making notes on a clipboard. You know Flitwick; he just treated her like a guest, didn't seem to bother him at all. She didn't say much, asked Alicia a couple of questions about what class was normally like. She told her, they were good, and that was it."

"I can't see old Flitwick getting marked down" said George. "he usually gets everyone through their exams alright. What've you got next?"

Hermione responded with Ancient Runes. Ginny had Herbology next. And Ron had Divinations with Trelawney. Leaving just Harry, who had a free period until Defense Against the Dark Arts with Umbridge.

* * *

"Ah, Harry, I must admit this is a surprise" said Dumbledore, sitting at his desk.

Something had been bothering Harry, ever since they had identified his invisibility cloak as a possible Deathly Hallow. Specifically, why Dumbledore would've wanted to study it in the first place. Suspecting he knew more about the Hallows, then he let on, Harry decided to use his free period to try and get some answers out of the headmaster.

"We need to talk" said Harry, taking a seat opposite the headmaster.

"About Madam Umbridge's new position?" the headmaster assumed.

"No that's more your problem. What do you know about the Deathly Hallows? And don't say you don't know anything."

Dumbledore sighed, not liking how much more informed Harry has become. Gone were the days that he would follow the headmaster blindly, a fact that he was reminded of in every conversation they've had of late.

"I admit I'm familiar with their legend" he confessed. "Though I did have my doubts about them being the creations of Death."

Not missing the not so subtle question, Harry remained silent, unable to confirm or disprove Dumbledore's theory – even if he wanted to.

"In my youth, I even attempted to search for the Hallows. To claim them and the title 'Master of Death' for myself" Dumbledore continued. "Though until Voldemort's return, I had no proof of their actual existence, and that quest was abandoned."

"Not completely though" Harry said accusingly. "You went to dad about the invisibility cloak because you think it's a Deathly Hallow."

"Indeed I did. It was a moment of weakness, longing for dreams best forgotten. Though I never was able to confirm whether it is in fact a Hallow."

"Has Snape brought you anything useful?" Harry asked, steering the conversation away from his cloak.

With Dumbledore's confession of his supposedly abandoned desire for the Deathly Hallows, Harry thought it best to not inform the headmaster of the its true power. Though he suspected Dumbledore may still be hiding a few more secrets.

"Severus has reported that Voldemort has been continuing his research into the Peverell bloodline" said Dumbledore. "He has also been experimenting with the Resurrection Stone; trying to learn the full range of its abilities."

"Think, I ran into one of his experiments the other night" said Harry, deciding to give up something. "It didn't last too long before self-destructing."

"Then we have time." With a wave of his wand Dumbledore summoned his Pensieve, bringing it to rest on top of his desk. "I would think it prudent to use this time to continue our investigation into Voldemort's past."

"Fine" Harry shrugged.

Pouring a vial of what was undoubtedly another memory, Harry was prepared for another trip into the Pensieve, only for Dumbledore to instead give the stone basin a good shake, prompting the silvery transparent image of a little old man to rise.

"Yes, we acquired it under strange circumstances" the man spoke. "It was brought in by a young witch just before Christmas, oh, many years ago now. She said she needed the gold badly. Well, that much was obvious; covered in rags and far along. Was about to have a baby. She said the locket had been Slytherin's. Well, we hear that sort of story all the time: 'oh, this was Merlin's, this was, his favorite teapot,' but when I looked at it, it had his mark all right, and a few simple spells were enough to tell me the truth. Of course, that made it near enough priceless. She didn't seem to have any idea how much it was worth. Happy to get ten Galleons for it. Best bargain we ever made!"

Dumbledore gave the Pensieve another good shake and the image fell back into the swirling mass of memory within the basin.

"That was the memory of Carcatacus Burke. After Tom Riddle Sr., had abandoned his witch wife, Merope, she was left alone in London, with child, and desperate enough to sell her one and only valuable possession, the locket that was one of Marvolo's treasured family heirlooms.

"And he only gave her ten Galleons" Harry said indignantly.

"Caractacus Burke was not known for his generosity" said Dumbledore.

"I'm surprised Merope didn't use magic to everything she needed." It wasn't unreasonable given she was willing to use magic to bewitch Tom Riddle Sr. into marrying her in the first place.

"I am only guessing, but I am sure I'm right –" Harry rolled his eyes at Dumbledore's display of arrogance, "that when her husband abandoned her, Merope stopped using magic. Perhaps she simply no longer wished to be a witch. Or perhaps the despair brought about by her unrequited love sapped her of her powers. In any case Merope refused to raise her wand, even to save her own life. Instead choosing to deliver her child in a muggle orphanage, shortly before her passing."

Harry didn't know what to think about that. In some ways, he still felt bad for Merope, given her abusive upbringing it made sense she'd try to find some way to find happiness, even a false one born of witchcraft. Having that torn away from her even if deserved, must've crushed what little hope she had left. Maybe in her own mind, Merope felt magic had brought her nothing but misery, explaining her refusal to go to a wizarding hospital.

At the same time, he couldn't help but wonder what would've happened had she survived to raise her son. Perhaps, Tom Riddle Jr. never would've become Lord Voldemort.

Regardless, Harry pushed those thoughts aside as Dumbledore placed another memory inside the Pensieve; this time one of his own.

* * *

Dumbledore once more directed Harry to enter the Pensieve. They found themselves standing in an empty courtyard that fronted a grim, square building surrounded by the high railings of an iron fence.

"Where are we?" Harry asked, taking in their surroundings.

"Wool's Orphanage" said Dumbledore. "We're about to view my first meeting with Tom Riddle, the boy who'd grow to become Lord Voldemort."

Remembering Harry's less than appreciative reaction to the longwinded process of following the ghosts of the past, Dumbledore raised his wand and motioned as if he were tapping it against an invisible wall.

Suddenly the world around them blurred as the world of the memory sped up, as if someone had pressed fast-forward, until they came to a rest in a long corridor, where they saw the past Dumbledore, dressed in a flamboyant plumb velvet suit, stood next to an older woman with graying blond hair, outside a closed door.

"That is Mrs. Cole, the caretaker" the present-day Dumbledore explained. "She had just finished explaining to me, how the other children seemed to fear Tom."

They watched as Mrs. Cole knocked before allowing Harry and the two Dumbledores to enter, closing the door behind them. It was a small bare room, except an old wardrobe, a wooden chair, and an iron bedframe. A boy Harry recognized as a young Tom Riddle, sat upon gray blankets, legs stretched out with a book in hand.

Tom's eyes narrowed as he took in the younger Dumbledore's eccentric appearance.

"How do you do, Tom" Dumbledore greeted, holding out his hand, that the boy hesitantly accepted. He then pulled up the hard, wooden chair beside Riddle. "I am Prof. Dumbledore."

"Professor?" Tom repeated warily. "Is that like 'doctor'? Did she bring you here to have a look at me?"

"No, no. I work at a school called Hogwarts and have come to offer you a place."

Harry remembered the awe he felt when Hagrid showed him the wizarding world. Riddle's response was the exact opposite, as he backed away from Dumbledore, with a furious expression on his face.

"You can't fool me! You're from the asylum! I'm not going! That old bat's the one, who should be in the asylum. I never did anything to little Amy Benson or Dennis Bishop, and you can ask them, they'll tell you!"

"I am not from the asylum" Dumbledore said patiently. "I am a teacher and, if you will calmly sit down, I shall tell you about Hogwarts. Of course, if you'd rather not come to the school, no one will force you."

"I'd like to see them try" Riddle sneered.

Ignoring the boy's attitude Dumbledore carried on, explaining about how Hogwarts was a school of magic. Surprisingly Riddle remained somewhat composed, keeping his face expressionless, but nowhere near as proficient as his older-self, Harry managed to pick up on the searching look in his eyes, trying figure out if Dumbledore was lying.

Harry scoffed at that, thinking that Dumbledore at any age wouldn't be that easy to catch out. The older Dumbledore saw this but chose not to commit, instead they watched as Riddle accepted his younger self's words as truth.

"Magic" the boy whispered. "What I can do is magic?"

"What is that you can do?" Dumbledore asked curiously.

"All sorts" Riddle breathed, with fevered cheeks. "I can make things move without touching them. I can make animals do what I want them to do, without training them. I can make bad things happen to people who annoy me. I can make them hurt if I want to."

His legs were trembling. He stumbled forward and sat down on the bed again, staring at his hands, his head bowed as though in prayer.

"I knew I was different," he whispered to his own quivering fingers. "I knew I was special. Always, I knew there was something."

"Well, you were quite right," said Dumbledore, no longer smiling, but watching Riddle intently. "You are a wizard."

Riddle lifted his head. There was a wild happiness in his expression, yet for some reason it seemed to make his features seem rougher, his expression almost bestial.

"Are you a wizard too?"

"Yes, I am."

"Prove it," Riddle commanded.

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "If, as I take it, you are accepting your place at Hogwarts…"

"Of course I am!"

"Then you will address me as 'Professor' or 'sir.'"

Harry watched as Riddle's expression hardened just for a moment, clearly not liking the idea of answering to anyone, before adopting an unrecognizably polite voice "I'm sorry, sir. I meant – please, Prof. Dumbledore, could you show me?"

Harry expected Dumbledore to refuse, siting any number of reasons. Instead the younger version of his headmaster drew his wand from the inside of his jacket, pointed it at the wardrobe in the corner, and with a casual flick of his wand, it burst into flames.

Riddle jumped to his feet; Harry could hardly blame him for howling in shock and rage; all his worldly possessions must've been in there. But as Riddle rounded on Dumbledore, the flames vanished, leaving the wardrobe completely undamaged.

Riddle stared from the wardrobe to Dumbledore; then, his expression greedy, he pointed at the wand. "Where can I get one of them?"

"All in good time" said Dumbledore. "I think there is something trying to get out of your wardrobe."

Sure, enough, a faint rattling could be heard from inside it. And for the first time, Riddle looked frightened.

"Open the door."

Hesitantly, Riddle crossed the room and threw open the wardrobe. On the topmost shelf, above a rail of threadbare clothes, a small cardboard box was shaking and rattling. Dumbledore ordered Riddle to bring the box out, and though unnerved the boy complied.

"Is there anything in that box that you ought not to have?" asked Dumbledore.

Riddle threw Dumbledore a long, clear, calculating look.

"Yes, I suppose so, sir," he said finally, in an expressionless voice.

Riddle took off the lid and tipped the contents onto his bed without looking at them. Harry, who had expected something much more exciting, saw a mess of small, everyday objects: a yo-yo, a silver thimble, and a tarnished harmonica among them. Once free of the box, they stopped quivering, laying still upon the thin blankets.

"You will return them to their owners with your apologies," said calmly Dumbledore, putting his wand back into his jacket. "I shall know whether it has been done. And be warned: Thieving is not tolerated at Hogwarts."

Riddle did not look remotely ashamed; he was still staring coldly and appraisingly at Dumbledore. At last he said in a dull voice, "Yes, sir."

"At Hogwarts," Dumbledore went on, "we teach you not only to use magic, but to control it. You have — inadvertently, I am sure — been using your powers in a way that is neither taught nor tolerated at our school. You are not the first, nor will you be the last, to allow your magic to run away with you. But you should know that Hogwarts can expel students, and the Ministry of Magic — yes, there is a Ministry — will punish lawbreakers still more severely. All new wizards must accept that, in entering our world, they abide by our laws."

"Yes, sir," Riddle said again, hiding his thoughts behind a blank mask.

Then the world turned dark as the memory came to an end.

* * *

"Your thoughts?" Dumbledore asked, once they reseated themselves in his office.

"Riddle was quick to believe he was a wizard" said Harry. Even with his spiritual awareness, Harry wasn't anywhere near as quick to believe magic was real.

"Yes, Tom was perfectly ready to believe he was – to use his word, 'special'" the headmaster agreed. "

"Did you know?" Harry couldn't help but ask. Even without knowing the monster Tom Riddle Jr. would become, there was something clearly wrong with the boy. The way he spoke about how he could make people hurt.

"Did I know that I had just met the most dangerous Dark wizard of all time?" said Dumbledore. "No, I had no idea what he would become. However, I was certainly intrigued by him. I returned to Hogwarts intending to keep an eye upon him, something I should have done in any case, given that he was alone and friendless, but for others' sake as much as his.

His powers, as you heard, were surprisingly well-developed for such a young wizard. Most interestingly and ominously of all — he had already discovered that he had some measure of control over them, and begun to use them consciously. And as you saw, they were not the random experiments typical of young wizards: He was already using magic against other people, to frighten, to punish, to control."

"In short he was already a monster" said Harry.

"I'm afraid so. Now as I'm sure you're wondering what the point of this was, let me explain. As I'm sure you can guess the box of items, Riddle possessed were all items taken from his victims at the orphanage. This is a habit he's never seemed able to break."

"Picking up, trophies?"

"Yes but only items that held significance to himself. He claimed the Gaunt family ring for himself, he kept his old diary even after discovering he was a wizard. I believe this magpie-like tendency of his will lead us to his Horcruxes."

"Do you have any actual leads, yet?"

It was all well and good to learn about your enemy but time was ticking. Eventually Voldemort would make his move or worse the Central 46 would order the Gotei 13 to wipeout the wizarding world, if they took long twiddling their thumbs.

"Alas, I am still working to track Voldemort's movements" Dumbledore confessed. "I just believed it prudent to keep you informed, as you requested."

While Harry wasn't entirely satisfied with that, there was nothing more he could do, as he was certain his free period was about to come to an end, and he didn't feel like bringing Umbridge's attention to his meetings with Dumbledore.

So, for now he took his leave, planning to tell his friends what he'd learned. As he left the room, Harry, failed to notice the calculating look in Dumbledore's eyes as the headmaster's thoughts turned Deathly.


	13. SOME

I do not own Bleach or Harry Potter the both belong respectively to Tite Kubo and J.K. Rowling

* * *

A cloud of misery seemed to descend on Hogwarts just two weeks after Umbridge became the High Inquisitor. There was a wariness in student and staff alike concerned about just how much power the Ministry intended to give the toad. But while the school seemed to be slowly suffocating under Umbridge's presence, Harry and his friends forced themselves to stay focused on their quest to locate the Elder Wand.

Every day after class Harry, Ginny, Hermione, and Ron could be found in the library trying to find anything that could put them on its trail. Unfortunately, it's been slow going. Even after two weeks of research they had found nothing.

"I give up" said Ron, pushing his book aside. "We're not going to find anything."

Hermione hated to admit it but maybe the library just didn't have the answers they needed.

"So what do you suggest?" she asked Ron.

"I don't know, can't Harry just take out You-Know-Who, before he gets his hands on the wand."

"That's starting to sound like our only option" said Harry. Of if he couldn't then Voldemort was one step closer to becoming the so called 'Master of Death' something that didn't sit well with him.

"Of course that would require, knowing where he is" said Ginny. "And of course if the Horcruxes aren't destroyed by then, we could end up doing this all over again."

The four sighed despairingly. It didn't seem like luck nor time was on their side. Taking a moment to look at the clock, Hermione let out a small gasp, and practically jumped out of her seat.

"I have get going" said Hermione, hurriedly packing her bag. "I'll see you back in the common room" and with that she was gone.

"Where's she hurrying off to?" asked Harry, confused by Hermione's abrupt departure.

"She's got a S.O.M.E. meeting tonight" said Ron.

"She's got to start setting up" said Ginny. "She's been wanting to touch base with the members."

While impressed that Hermione had managed to help with the research into the Deathly Hallows, keep up her school work, and run her S.O.M.E. group all at the same time; Harry couldn't help but worry that she would burn herself out. There were also feelings of guilt, that he was the only one that didn't know what she was up to.

"Do you guys know where she's holding the meeting?" he asked, thinking he can at least lend his support.

* * *

Ron and Ginny directed Harry to one of the free classrooms on the seventh floor. Upon their arrival, they found Hermione standing at a podium overlooking a full crowd of students: a unique mix of Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and surprisingly even a small number of Slytherins. Harry had heard about the groups success, but this was the first time he had found the time to join one of the meetings. Finding a chair in the back, he sat quietly as Hermione began the meeting.

"Thank you all for coming. I am happy to see we have some new faces. To start off, I'd like to touch base with everyone. Does anyone have any new concerns?"

Immediately everyone's hands shot up. Hermione pointed to a first year Hufflepuff girl near the front.

"The older Slytherins keep bullying us in the halls, and the professors don't do anything."

"That's why we're here" said Hermione, a sympathetic smile on her face. "The professors are only willing to remove points and give detentions. This isn't enough. Without real world consequences, this behavior won't stop. It's already spread through our community but together we can speak out against it. If we raise our voices those in power will have no choice but to take notice."

This got a round-of-applause from the S.O.M.E. members, and Harry found himself surprised by just how powerful a public speaker Hermione was.

"Hogwarts is where that change begins and by banding together we send a message that we won't take this treatment anymore."

"We've got your back kid" said a fifth year Ravenclaw. "Just stick with any of us and we'll send those bullies packing."

The first year Hufflpuff smiled at the show of support and she wasn't the only one. Around the room, other first years were surprised by that the older students would lift a finger to help them. Hermione has only been running S.O.M.E. for a little over a year now, and she'd already done more to unite the Houses than anyone else thought possible.

"Not all of us Slytherins are bullies" a small voice spoke up, a third year Slytherin boy, looking uncomfortable as the group's attention fell on him.

"That's' very true" said Hermione. "We cannot judge someone simply because of their House, lineage, or even species. If we do, then we're just adding to the poison plaguing our world."

A few of the older years seemed to have a problem breaking that mentality, but didn't say anything. They knew what they were getting into with a group called: The Society of Magical Equality.

The meeting continued with its members each bringing up issues that bothered them, and while Hermione was clearly the leader of the group, they all took part in trying to find solutions to those problems. After spending four years at Hogwarts, Harry had allowed himself to fall into the House prejudices at least a little, so it was amazing to watch those boundaries but put aside so that they could all come together for a common good. Even when Dobby arrived during break – brining snacks and refreshments – no one thought to treat the elf any differently than any other member, as he proudly wore a membership pin on his latest bizarre outfit. They just sat back and happily gave Dobby the floor, as he went on to explain how much the other castle elves were enjoying the appreciation from the S.O.M.E. members, even if they didn't want to be free like Dobby.

As he enjoyed his butterbeer, Harry didn't miss the proud look in Hermione's eyes at her creation's success. Strangely he also picked up on a similar look on Ron's face as he focused on their friend.

Harry was about to ask him about it, when Cho Chang walked up to him.

"Hello, Harry. Is this your first meeting?"

"Yeah, I haven't been able to find the time before" said Harry. _I've been too busy killing Hollows._ "What about you?"

"No, I joined last year with…"

"Cedric" Harry said mercifully, noticing how difficult it was for Cho to say her murdered boyfriend's name.

Nodding and giving Harry a watery, grateful smile Cho looked like she was about to say something, only to change her mind at the last minute, as Hermione called for the meeting to resume. The second half of the meeting was like the first, with the addition of brainstorming ideas to help spread the group's message, and encouraging the muggleborn members to try and maintain a relationship with their families, saying that they didn't have to choose between them and magic. While those who grew up in the wizarding world, tried to help clear things up for those newly joining the magical community.

It truly was a sight to behold. As the meeting started to come to an end, Hermione brought up one last new topic of discussion: Umbridge.

"I don't think I'm alone, when I say that woman is a joke of a professor. I've been thinking about this and I had an idea. We all know that Umbridge won't teach us anything, so I was thinking we'll have to take things into our own hands."

This was the first Harry had heard of this and from the looks on Ron and Ginny's faces, they didn't know about it either. Though he did agree with Hermione. They'd already gone into their second month of class and all they'd done was read a worthless book that taught them nothing about defense. And from the looks on the S.O.M.E. members' faces he wasn't the only one.

"So you want to organize a study group?" Cho Chang asked.

"Yes, one focused on Defense Against the Dark Arts" said Hermione. "Real defense, actually learning how to use the spells, not just theory. So, that we can all properly defend ourselves."

"And you want to pass your Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L" a S.O.M.E. member said good naturedly.

"Of course I do. But it's more than that, I want to be properly trained because…" Hermione took a breath, taking a moment to consider her words. "we don't know what's coming. There's been talks about Lord Voldemort's return."

The reaction to that was both immediate and predictable as the S.O.M.E. members reacted fearfully at the sound of the Dark Lord's name. But Hermione carried on.

"And maybe you don't believe it. Regardless, we can't ignore the string of dangerous incidences of late. The Death Eaters' attack on the World Cup, the fake Prof. Moody, the death of Cedric Diggory."

The last one struck those that knew the fallen Hufflepuff hard. Harry saw Cho being comforted by a friend, as she struggled not to break into tears – bringing up feelings of guilt at his inability to protect Cedric.

 _I promise Cedric, I will get him._ He vowed, promising to avenge Cedric's death.

"Now more than ever, I believe it's important to be able to protect ourselves and our loved ones" Hermione finished, getting the full support of the group.

It looked like from now on the S.O.M.E. meetings would double as DADA practice. It may not have been what he was expecting, but Harry was glad he had decided to join the meeting. He was looking forward to seeing just how far Hermione could take her ideals.

* * *

Sadly, that optimism wouldn't last. The next Monday morning, Ron and Harry entered the Gryffindor common room, noticing a small group of students gathering in front of the bulletin board. A new sign had been added, so large that it covered everything else.

 _ **BY ORDER OF**_

 _ **The High Inquisitor of Hogwarts**_

 _ **All Student Organizations, Societies, Teams, Groups, and Clubs are henceforth disbanded. An Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club is hereby defined as a regular meeting of three or more students. Permission to re-form may be sought from the High Inquisitor (Prof. Umbridge). No Student Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club may exist without the knowledge and approval of the High Inquisitor.**_

 _ **Any student found to have formed, or to belong to, an Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club that has not been approved by the High Inquisitor will be expelled.**_

"Umbridge" Ron growled, once he finished reading the notice. Harry had never seen his friend so angry before. "This is going to kill, Hermione."

 _This can't be a coincidence_ Harry thought to himself. The S.O.M.E. group made plans to help each other learn spells and the next week this notice comes up. Somehow Umbridge found out, so did that mean someone told her? He couldn't imagine why anyone would, the group was doing a lot of good. The only ones that would benefit from it being shut down would be the likes of Malfoy and the other junior Death Eaters.

In the end, it didn't matter. Ron was right, this was going to kill Hermione. Harry was not looking forward to having to tell her that Umbridge had destroyed her proudest achievement.

* * *

When Ron and Harry told Hermione about Umbridge's new decree, they expected tears. Instead they got righteous fury.

"If she thinks that's going to be enough to stop me, then she's wrong!" Hermione declared.

"So to be clear: you're willing to risk expulsion?" Ginny asked cautiously.

"There are more important things."

Harry, Ron, and Ginny stared – bug-eyed – at Hermione, unable to believe those words came out of her mouth.

"I'm not that bad" Hermione huffed. "This is about showing our generation can be better than the last. If I can make serious inroads to removing the hold these bigots have on the magical world, I'm willing to make the sacrifice."

"You Hermione, are a true revolutionary." said Ginny, as Ron and Harry shared matching grins.

"So I can count on your help?"

"Absolutely" said Ron.

Though they too agreed to lend their support Ginny and Harry couldn't help but laugh at how quickly Ron answered.

"Now we just need to find a more secure place to have our meetings" said Hermione.

"How about the Room of Requirement?" Harry suggested. "We can just ask for a place that Umbridge can't spy on."

"That's perfect. I've already charmed the S.O.M.E. membership badges to alert members of the time and location of meetings."

Decree or no decree, nothing was about to stop Hermione Granger.

* * *

A few days later Hermione sent out a message through the S.O.M.E. badges, directing the group to meet them in the seventh-floor hallway. At half-past seven Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny called forth the Room of Requirement, asking specifically for a place to learn how to fight and that was protected from Umbridge.

When they stepped inside the found the room had more then met their expectations. The walls were lined with wooden bookcases, and instead of chairs there were large silk cushions on the floor. A set of shelves at the far end of the room carried a range of instruments such as Sneakoscopes, Secrecy Sensors, and a large, cracked Foe-Glass that Harry was sure had hung, the previous year, in the fake Moody's office.

"These will be good when we're practicing Stunning," said Ron enthusiastically, prodding one of the cushions with his foot.

"And just look at these books!" Hermione said excitedly, her face glowing, as she ran a finger along the spines of the large leather-bound tomes. her face glowing.

They weren't the only ones impressed as the other S.O.M.E. members couldn't believe their eyes.

"What is this place?" Dean Thomas asked, looking around in awe.

It was left up to Ginny to explain, taking care to edit the story of exactly how they came to learn about the Room. Harry did however find himself forced to explain what the purpose of the array of instruments the Room provided, identifying them as Dark Detectors, cautioning the others not to get too reliant on them, as they could be fooled. A lesson learned from the Prof. Moody imposter the previous year.

When eight o'clock came around, Hermione as the recognized leader of the group called them all to attention.

"First, I want to thank everyone here for coming. It's heartwarming to see that I'm not the only one that believes that it's time for a change."

As one the group started to applaud Hermione's efforts as the first to take an active stance, but quickly fell silent as their leader continued her speech.

"This won't take long I promise. As I was saying while appreciate your faith in me and what our organization believes in; I don't believe I'm the right person to lead us in learning defense. For that I nominate Harry. All who support?"

"What?" Harry exclaimed in shock, as everyone put their hands up. "What?! I thought you were the group leader, Hermione?"

"She is" said Luna, appearing behind Harry, causing him to practically jump out of his skin. "She just think's you should lead the defense lessons. It makes sense we all know you're powerful."

While everyone else was most likely thinking, she was referring to his performance in the Triwizard Tournament, or perhaps when he blasted Snape the previous year, Harry couldn't shake the unsettling feeling that Luna knew more than she let on. It didn't help that he still couldn't get a lock on the girl's spiritual pressure.

Despite her reputation for being 'loony' the rest of the S.O.M.E. members supported Luna's statement, saying that while Hermione was the group's leader, Harry was their instructor. However reluctant, Harry found himself accepting the role, and to his surprise found he was a capable teacher.

Though he did still plan to talk to Hermione later.


	14. WEASLEY IS OUR KING

**Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays**

I do not own Bleach or Harry Potter the both belong respectively to Tite Kubo and J.K. Rowling

* * *

Two weeks later a lively energy returned to the students as the first Quidditch match of the season drew near, the always much anticipated Gryffindor vs Slytherin. With the Quidditch Cup never being held for so long, everyone was eager to see if this was the year that ended Gryffindor's winning streak. Even the Heads of House of the competing teams, though they attempted to disguise it under a decent pretense of sportsmanship, were determined to see their side's victory. Harry realized how much Prof. McGonagall cared about beating Slytherin when she abstained from giving them homework in the week leading up to the match.

When someone asked why the sudden reprieve she told them "You have enough to assignments to work on". Nobody could quite believe their ears until she looked directly at Harry and Ron and said grimly, "I've become accustomed to seeing the Quidditch Cup in my study, boys, and I really don't want to have to hand it over to Prof. Snape, so use the extra time to practice, won't you?"

Snape was no less obviously biased: He had booked the Quidditch pitch for Slytherin practice so often that the Gryffindors had difficulty getting on it to play. He was also turning a deaf ear to the many reports of Slytherin attempts to hex Gryffindor players in the corridors. When one of their Chasers, Alicia Spinnet turned up in the hospital wing with her eyebrows growing so thick and fast that they obscured her vision and covered her mouth, Snape insisted that she must have attempted a Hair-Thickening Charm on herself and refused to listen to the fourteen eyewitnesses who insisted that they had seen the Slytherin Keeper, Miles Bletchley, hit her from behind with a jinx while she worked in the library.

Harry felt optimistic about Gryffindor's chances; they had, after all, never lost to Malfoy's team. Admittedly Ron was still not performing to Wood's standard, but he was working extremely hard to improve. His greatest weakness was his tendency to lose confidence when he made a mistake; if he let in one goal he became flustered and was therefore likely to miss more.

On the other hand, Ron could make some truly spectacular saves when he was on form.

During one memorable practice, he had hung one-handed from his broom and kicked the Quaffle so hard away from the goal hoop that it soared the length of the pitch and through the center hoop at the other end. The rest of the team felt this save compared favorably with one made recently by Barry Ryan, the Irish International Keeper, against Poland's top Chaser, Ladislaw Zamojski. Even Fred had said that Ron might just make him and George proud, and that they were seriously considering admitting that he was related to them, something he assured Ron they had been trying to deny for four years.

The only thing really worrying Harry was how much Ron was allowing the tactics of the Slytherin team to upset him before they even got onto the pitch. Harry, of course, had endured their snide comments for more than four years, but Ron had never endured a relentless campaign of insults, jeers, and intimidation.

Eventually October gave way to November's cold chill, and with it the day of the long-awaited match. That morning Harry woke to find Ron sitting in his bed in the fetal position, staring blankly into space.

"Are you ok?" Harry asked, concerned for his friend.

Ron simply nodded quietly. Harry couldn't help but be reminded of the time Ron had accidentally put a slug-vomiting charm on himself. He looked just as pale and sweaty as he had done then, not to mention as reluctant to open his mouth.

"You just need some breakfast" Harry said bracingly, pulling Ron to his feet. "Get dressed and let's go.

* * *

Unfortunately, the rousing welcome they received at the Gryffindor table – where everyone wore their house colors in support – did nothing to raise Ron's spirits. He practically collapsed onto the nearest bench looking as if it were his final meal.

"I must've been mental to do this" he said in a croaky whisper. "Mental."

"Don't be thick" Harry said firmly. "You're going to be fine. It's normal to be nervous."

"Who's nervous?" Ginny asked, as she and Hermione joined them, both decked out in red and gold scarves, and gloves.

"Ron's nervous."

"Well, that's a good sign" said Hermione. "I never feel you perform as well in exams if you're not a bit nervous."

"I'm rubbish" Ron said dejectedly. "I'm lousy. I can't play to save my life."

"And that's a bit too nervous" said Ginny. "Ron, you're my brother and I love you, but if you don't stop attacking yourself, I'll do it for you."

"I don't think your Bat Boogey Hex is the way to go this time, Gin" Harry weakly laughed. Not that it seemed to matter as Ron didn't even bother to respond to his sister's threat, preferring to stare into his bowl of cereal, looking as if he was considering trying to drown himself in milk.

"Hello" said a vague and dreamy voice from behind them.

They turned to see Luna Lovegood, who was sporting a hat shaped like a life-sized lion's head, that was gathering more than a few strange looks. "I'm supporting Gryffindor" she said, pointing unnecessarily at her hat. "Look what it does…"

Luna reached up and tapped the hat with her wand. It opened its mouth wide and gave an extremely realistic roar that made everyone in the vicinity jump.

"It's good, isn't it?" she said happily. "I wanted to have it chewing up a serpent to represent Slytherin, you know, but there wasn't time. Anyway…good luck, Ronald!"

Then she was gone. They hadn't quite recovered from the shock of Luna's hat before Angelina came hurrying toward them, accompanied by Katie and Alicia, whose eyebrows had mercifully been returned to normal by Madam Pomfrey.

"When you're ready," she said. "We're going to go straight down to the pitch, check out conditions and change."

"We'll be there in a bit," Harry assured her. "Ron's just got to have some breakfast."

However, it soon became clear that Ron was not capable of eating anything more and Harry thought it best to get him down to the changing rooms. As they rose from the table, Hermione took Harry aside.

"Don't let Ron see what's on the Slytherin's badges" she whispered urgently.

Harry gave her a questioning look, as he wasn't aware of any Slytherin badges, but Hermione didn't want to elaborate, instead pushing him towards Ron, who was in the middle of receiving another pep talk from Ginny, but it didn't seem to be working, judging from the desperate and lost expression on his face.

"Just trust me, Ron" Ginny groaned, getting tired of her brother's self-depreciative attitude. "You'll do great."

But while both Ginny and Harry failed to break through Ron's doubts, Hermione had the perfect solution. With a soft smile on her face, Hermione stood on her tiptoes and kissed Ron on the cheek.

"Good luck, Ron…and you, Harry" she added hastily, cheeks blushing.

While this did knock Ron out of his funk, it also left him in a daze, as he touched the spot where Hermione had kissed him, looking puzzled, as though he wasn't quite sure what happened. It was still an improvement in Harry's opinion, as he led him out of the great hall.

With Ron too distracted by the kiss, Harry decided to take a cursory glance at the Slytherin table, as they passed, noticing silver crown shaped badges on quite a few of their robes. He could just make out the words: _**WEASLEY IS OUR KING.**_

Knowing that couldn't mean anything good, Harry hurried Ron across the entrance hall, down the stone steps, and out into the icy air.

* * *

Angelina was already changed and addressing the rest of the team when they arrived. Quickly pulling on their robes, Harry and Ron pulled on their robes, and sat down to listen to Angelina's pre-match speech, while outside the humming of voices steadily grew louder, as the crowd came pouring out of the castle toward the pitch.

"Okay, I've only just found out the final lineup for Slytherin" said Angelina, consulting a piece of parchment. "Last year's Beaters, Derrick and Bole, have left now, but it looks as though Montague's replaced them with the usual gorillas, rather than anyone who can fly particularly well. They're two blokes called Crabbe and Goyle, I don't know much about them…"

"We do," said Harry and Ron together.

"Well, they don't look bright enough to tell one end of a broom from another, but then again I was always surprised Derrick and Bole managed to find their way onto the pitch without signposts."

"Crabbe and Goyle are the same" Harry assured Angelina.

They could now hear the sound of hundreds of footsteps climbing the stands. Some people were singing, though Harry couldn't make out the words. Concerned, Harry glanced at Ron, who was clutching his stomach and staring into space again, looking as pale as a ghost.

"It's time," Angelina said in a hushed voice, looking at her watch. "Everyone, good luck."

The team rose, shouldered their brooms, and marched in single file out of the changing room and into the dazzling sunlight. A roar of sound greeted them in which Harry could still hear singing, though it was muffled by the cheers and whistles.

The Slytherin team were standing waiting for them. They too were wearing those silver crown-shaped badges. The new captain, Montague, was built with massive forearms like hairy hams. Behind him lurked Crabbe and Goyle, almost as large, blinking stupidly in the sunlight, swinging their new Beaters' bats. Malfoy stood to one side, the sunlight gleaming on his white-blond head. He caught Harry's eye and smirked, tapping the crown shaped badge on his chest.

"Captains shake hands" ordered the umpire, Madam Hooch, as Angelina and Montague reached each other. Harry could tell that Montague was trying to crush Angelina's fingers, though to her credit she didn't wince. "Mount your brooms…"

Madam Hooch blew her whistle releasing the balls, and the fourteen players took to the air. Out of the corner of his eye Harry saw Ron streak off toward the goal hoops, as he zoomed higher, dodging a Bludger, and started a wide lap around the pitch, searching for a glint of gold; on the other side of the stadium, Draco Malfoy was doing the same.

As he searched, Harry listened as hard as he could to Lee Jordan's commentary, through the wind whistling in his ears, and the noise of the crowd, all yelling, booing, and singing.

"…dodges Warrington, avoids a Bludger – close call, Alicia – and the crowd is loving this, just listen to them, what's that they're singing?"

And as Lee paused to listen the song rang loud and clear from the Slytherin section of the stands:

 _ **Weasley cannot save a thing,**_

 _ **He cannot block a single ring,**_

 _ **That's why Slytherins all sing,**_

 _ **Weasley is our King**_

 _ **Weasley was born in a bin,**_

 _ **He always lets the Quaffle in,**_

 _ **Weasley will make sure we win,**_

 _ **Weasley is our King.**_

"…And Alicia passes back to Angelina!" Lee shouted, trying to drown out the singing. "Come on now, Angelina – looks like she's got just the Keeper to beat! – SHE SHOOTS – SHE – aww…"

The Slytherin Keeper had saved the goal. He threw the Quaffle to one of the Slytherin Chasers, Warrington, who sped off with it, zigzagging in between Alicia and Katie; the singing from below grew louder and louder the closer he came to Ron.

 _ **Weasley is our King, Weasley is our King,**_

 _ **He always lets the Quaffle in,**_

 _ **Weasley is our King.**_

Harry couldn't help himself; abandoning his search for the Snitch, he turned his Firebolt toward Ron, a lone figure at the far end of the pitch, hovering before the three goal hoops while the massive Warrington pelted toward him.

"…so it's the first test for new Gryffindor Keeper, Weasley, brother of Beaters, Fred and George, and a promising new talent on the team – come on, Ron!"

Warrington took his shot. Ron dived wildly to intercept, arms wide, but the Quaffle passed between them and straight through Ron's center hoop.

"Slytherin score!" came Lee's voice amid the cheering and booing from the crowds below. "So that's ten-nil to Slytherin — bad luck, Ron…"

The Slytherins sang even louder:

 _ **WEASLEY WAS BORN IN A BIN,**_

 _ **HE ALWAYS LETS THE QUAFFLE IN…**_

"…and Gryffindor back in possession and its Katie Bell tanking up the pitch" Lee valiantly cried, though the singing, now so deafening that he could hardly be heard above it.

 _ **WEASLEY WILL MAKE SURE WE WIN,**_

 _ **WEASLEY IS OUR KING…**_

"HARRY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Angelina screamed, soaring past him to keep up with Katie. "GET GOING!"

Harry realized that he had been stationary in midair for more than a minute, watching the progress of the match without sparing a thought for the whereabouts of the Snitch; horrified, he went into a dive and started circling the pitch again, searching around, trying to ignore the chorus now thundering through the stadium:

 _ **WEASLEY IS OUR KING,**_

 _ **WEASLEY IS OUR KING…**_

Harry couldn't find any sign of the Snitch. Fortunately, neither could Malfoy, who was still circling the stadium just like Harry. As they passed each other midway around the pitch – In opposite directions – Harry heard Malfoy loudly sing:

 _ **WEASLEY WAS BORN IN A BIN…**_

Harry's blood boiled, as he had no doubt that Malfoy was the mastermind behind the cruel song. And as Lee announced another Slytherin score, Harry hated to admit it but it was effective. Still there was time for Gryffindor to turn things around, as long as he found the Snitch before too long.

Then as if the universe loved tormenting him, Harry's combat pass went off alerting him to the presence of a Hollow.

 _Not now_ , Harry mentally cursed. He didn't want to abandon the game, especially with how the Slytherins' song was getting to Ron. Be he also couldn't very well put a game of Quidditch over his job as a Soul Reaper.

In the end, there wasn't any choice at all. Steering his Firebolt towards the goal posts, Harry stopped by the dejected Ron.

"Hollow" Harry said urgently.

"You can't just go" Ron pleaded. "I'm completely rubbish. We need you."

"Ron, I'm going to make this quick. Ignore them. I've seen you play dozens of times, you can do this."

"But…"

"Ron! Look if you start getting nervous, just think of something else!"

Not wanting to waste any more time, Harry swallowed his soul candy, leaving Mick in charge of his body, flash stepping away before anyone in the stadium could see his Soul Reaper form.

But in his haste, Harry had forgotten that Mick had never flown a broom before. Something made evident as the mod soul's broom started jerking uncontrollably, reminiscent of Harry's first game.

 _Ok, ok. I can do this_ Ron told himself, now more nervous than ever. Mick wasn't likely to catch the Snitch, leaving it all on him to keep the Slytherin team from pulling too far ahead.

* * *

Following the spiritual pressure, Harry appeared inside the Forbidden Forest. Upon his arrival, he found the centaur colony surrounded under attack, by Hollows of various shapes and sizes, all hungering for their souls.

Wasting no time, Harry drew his black zanpakutō and struck at the closest monster, cleaving its head clean off, before it could make a meal of a centaur child.

"Harry Potter!" Firenze cried out, relieved by the Substitute Soul Reaper's appearance.

"Firenze, get everyone out of here!" Harry commanded.

While the rate of Hollow attacks had been increasing, this was the largest one he had ever seen. Harry couldn't risk using his more destructive abilities with the centaurs around.

Firenze wasted no time in gathering up the centaur child, helping him to escape with the rest of their colony, leaving Harry to face the Hollow swarm. Drawing Nakatsukasa's second sword, the Substitute Soul Reaper leapt into the fray, his deadly blades slicing effortlessly into the Hollows.

Piercing skulls, severing limbs, Harry moved across the battle field as if performing a deadly dance, the results of his training in Karakura Town were shining through, for even against the Hollows' seemingly endless numbers, the monsters failed to so much as touch him – unable to match his speed and power.

All the better as Harry tried to remain mindful of causing too much damage to the Forbidden Forest least he drives the very creatures he was saving from their homes.

 _Sorry Ron, this is going to take a while._

* * *

"Something seems to be wrong with Potter. Either that or he's trying a new style of flying, because I don't think I've ever seen a Seeker nearly get hit in the head with a…wait, Katie Bell of Gryffindor has the Quaffle. She dodges Pucey, ducks Montague – nice swerve Katie – and throws to Johnson" Lee Jorden called out.

While the game went on, Ron was panicking. Harry was gone, Mick was a terrible flyer, he was doing a lousy job as Keeper.

Ron just hoped that Harry would hurry back before Malfoy found the Snitch, because Mick certainly wasn't going were lucky Madam Hooch hasn't called a penalty yet.

"Angelina Johnson takes the Quaffle, she's past Warrington, she's heading for goal, come on now Angelina…"

 _But what if Harry gets back and it's too late to make a difference. If the Slytherins pull too far ahead, it'll be my fault. Harry and the team will hate me. Fred and George will never let me live it down. I'll make a fool of myself in front of the entire school. What was I thinking? I can't play…_

Ron's panicked thoughts were broken as he heard Luna's lion hat roaring, amidst the Gryffindors' cheers.

"GRYFFINDOR SCORE! It's forty-ten, forty-ten to Slytherin and Pucey has the Quaffle…"

Ron breathed a small sigh of relief as Gryffindor got on the score board. Thinking that maybe they could hold out until Harry's return, and he wouldn't have to worry about letting the team down. But then it happened: Goyle aimed a Bludger at the back of Mick's head, driven to protect Harry's body, the mod soul instinctively swung his arm out - knocking his fist into the iron ball – and much to (nearly) everyone's surprise sent it flying

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL?!"

"PROFESSOR!" Lee Jorden exclaimed, both in response to Prof. McGonagall's uncharacteristic outburst, and to the inhuman display of strength seen from who they believed to be Harry Potter.

Then as if things weren't crazy enough, in a move that could only be described as cartoonish, the Bludger, Mick knocked away ended up crashing into a golden flicker of light of the Snitch, with enough force to shatter them both on impact.

"Um, guess Harry's been working out" Lee said weakly. "Does anyone know the ruling for a busted Snitch?"

* * *

After some rather aggressive negotiations between the Gryffindor and Slytherin captains, Madam Hooch stepped in, and ruled that the game would be decided by an unprecedented penalty shot competition.

Each teams' Chasers would be allowed five shots against the opposing team's Keeper, the winner would be determined by the final score.

For Gryffindor to have a chance at winning, Ron couldn't afford to let even one goal past him. Which did nothing to help his nerves.

 _I can't do this. I can' t do this. I can't…_ Ron was having a complete mental breakdown. Locked in a daze he only vaguely acknowledged Lee Jordan announcing the new score of fifty – forty with Gryffindor in the lead. Now it all came down to Ron.

Ron's nerves went into overdrive as the Slytherin Chasers took their formation. Then for reasons he couldn't explain, his eyes ran over the Gryffindor section of the stands, taking in their anxious looks before focusing on Hermione's face.

As he took in her features, he found not the unease present in the others. Instead he saw faith and belief in him, she believed Ron could do this. That made all the difference for Ron, as Malfoy started to lead the Slytherins in another performance of their song:

 _ **WEASLEY CANNOT SAVE A THING,**_

 _ **HE CANNOT BLOCK A SINGLE RING,**_

 _ **THAT'S WHY THE SLYTHERIN'S ALL SING:**_

 _ **WEASLEY IS OUR KING.**_

It suddenly didn't seem to matter to Ron anymore. With this change, came clarity. Suddenly it was like Ron could do no wrong as the Slytherin Chasers took their shots, he saved every one with apparent ease, blocking the last one in style, with him hanging one-handed from his broom, kicking the Quaffle so hard away from the goal hoop that it soared the length of the pitch and through the center hoop at the other end.

At that moment, Harry returned to his body, just in time to join the Gryffindors in their boisterous cheers for the unexpected turn around from Ron. Harry and Ron shared wide grins as the Gryffindors broke out into a song of their own:

 _ **WESLEY IS OUR KING,**_

 _ **WEASLEY IS OUR KING,**_

 _ **HE DIDN'T LET THE QUAFFLE IN**_

 _ **WEASLEY IS OUR KING**_

* * *

After the game, Umbridge tried to have Harry banded from Quidditch for illegal use of magic, much to his confusion. But when he was checked for any spells or potions that would've explained the display of strength during the game, they found nothing – leaving the bitter toad wallow in her failure at such a petty tactic.

Though confused as to why he was being examined, during the celebration, Ginny took the time to fill him in.

"He did what?" Harry laughed.

"I'm serious" said Ginny. "Mick completely shattered them both. The school's going to need to order some new supplies."

"Guess, I shouldn't put Mick on a broom again."

"No, you should not. Still at least it worked out."

Ginny nodded to where they could see Ron as the center of attention, happily accepting praise from his teammates and fellow Gryffindors.

"I think Hermione was right" Harry said suddenly.

"About what?" Ginny asked.

"Maybe doing my job and being on the Quidditch team is too much. I missed most of the match today because of a Hollow. It's probably going to happen again too."

"So, you're quitting?"

"Think I might have too. I can't put Quidditch before being a Soul Reaper."

Harry didn't like it but he didn't see any other way. He knew there would have to be sacrifices when he chose to regain his powers, Quidditch was just going to have to be one of them.

"Angelina's not going to like that" said Ginny.

"No, but I'm sure you'll be up to the task" Harry replied, catching Ginny completely off guard. "You're a great flyer. You'll make a perfect Seeker. Let's let Ron have his night, I'll tell Angelina tomorrow."

Just then the portrait hole opened, as Hermione entered the Gryffindor common room, a grin on her face.

"What's got you so happy?" Ginny asked.

"Hagrid's back" Hermione replied, smiling brightly.


	15. They Might Be Giants

I do not own Bleach or Harry Potter the both belong respectively to Tite Kubo and J.K. Rowling

* * *

Pulling Ron away from the celebrations, they made their way out of the castle and out onto the silent, snowy grounds. Harry couldn't help but grin as he spotted the smoke coiling up from Hagrid's chimney. With his friends following close behind, Harry picked up his pace – crossing through the snow as fast as they could until at last they reached Hagrid's front door, setting Fang off, with three hard knocks on the door.

"Hagrid, it's us!" Harry called out.

"Should've known" they heard the gentle half giant reply.

Despite the gruff tone, Harry and his friends beamed at one another, able to tell that Hagrid was pleased by their visit. "Been home three seconds…out of the way, Fang…out of the way – you, lazy dog."

The door creaked open, and Hermione screamed, once they saw Hagrid's face – more specifically his roughed-up appearance.

Hagrid's hair was matted with congealed blood, and his left eye had been reduced to a puffy slit amid a mass of purple-and-black bruises. There were many cuts littered his face and hands, some of them still bleeding. As he hurried them inside, Harry noticed Hagrid was moving gingerly, which made him suspect broken ribs. It was obvious that he had only just got home; a thick black traveling cloak lay over the back of a chair and a rucksack large enough to carry several small children leaned against the wall inside the door.

"What happened?" Harry demanded, while Fang danced around them, trying to lick their faces.

"It's nothing!" Hagrid said hastily, hurrying to close all his curtains. "Tea?"

"No, we don't want tea" Ron said firmly. "What happened to you!"

"I'm telling you, I'm fine." Hagrid straightened up, and attempted to give them a smile, only to wince from the pain. "Blimey, it's good to see you. Glad to see you're ok, Harry – you had a lot of us worried, just taking off like that."

"Don't change the subject, Hagrid!" Ginny chastised. "You've been attacked!"

"For the last time, it's nothing!"

"You wouldn't say that if one of us turned up with a pound of mince for a face!" Ron snapped.

"You should go see Madam Pomfrey, Hagrid" Hermione said anxiously. "Some of those cuts look nasty."

"I'm dealing with it, all right" said Hagrid.

Walking over to his table, Hagrid pulled aside a tea towel, revealing a raw, bloody, green-tinged steak slightly larger than the average car tire.

"You're not going to eat that, are you?" asked Ron, looking disgusted by the meat. "It looks poisonous."

"It's dragon meat" said Hagrid. "It's supposed to look like that. And I didn't get it to eat."

Slapping the steak over the left side of his face, Hagrid sighed in relief, as greenish blood trickled down into his beard. "That's better. It helps with the stinging."

"So, you going to tell us what happened?" said Harry.

"Can't, Harry. It's top secret."

"Hagrid, we're members of the Order" said Hermione. Well technically they were only working with them, but the point still stands. "We know about your mission to speak with the giants."

"Oh" Hagrid certainly wasn't expecting that. "That changes things. Well, we set off right after term ended…"

"We?" Ginny interjected. "Are you talking about Madame Maxime?"

"Yeah that's right" said Hagrid, expression softening at the mention of the Beauxbatons Headmistress. "it was just the pair of us. An I'll tell you this, she's not afraid of roughing it, Olympe. You know, she's a fine, well-dressed woman, an' knowing where we were going I wondered how she'd feel about climbing over boulders and sleeping in caves, but she never complained once."

"You knew where you were going?" Harry asked. "You knew where the giants were?"

"Well, Dumbledore did, and he told us."

"Are they hidden?" Ron asked. "Is where they are a secret?"

Not really" said Hagrid. "It's just most wizards don't care where they are, so long as it's a good long way away. But where they are, is difficult to get to, for humans anyway, so we needed Dumbledore's directions. Took us about a month to get there…"

"A month?!" Ron and Ginny exclaimed, as though they never heard of such a long journey.

"Why didn't you just use a portkey?" Ron asked.

There was an odd expression in Hagrid's unobscured eye as he squinted at Ron; it was almost pitying. "We're being watched, Ron" he said gruffly. "The Ministry's keeping an eye on Dumbledore and anyone they think's in league with him, and…"

"We know" Harry interrupted. "So, you couldn't risk them picking up on any large uses of magic."

"No magic at all" said Ron, looking thunderstruck. Ginny wasn't in any better shape. While they had nothing against muggles – growing up as they did, it was hard to imagine a life completely without the convenience of magic.

"Well, not the whole time" Hagrid said cagily. "We just had to be careful, Olympe and me, we stick out a bit –"

 _That's an understatement_. A subtle look to his friends told Harry he wasn't the only one thinking that, thankfully they were kind enough not to comment aloud.

"– so, we're not hard to follow. We pretended we were on holiday together, so when we got into France, we made like we were headed for where Olympe's school is, we knew we were being tailed by someone from the Ministry. Had to go slow, since I'm not supposed to use magic, knew the Ministry would be looking for a reason to run us in. But we managed to give the berk tailing us the slip about Dee-John…"

"Ooooh, Dijon" Hermione said excitedly. "I've been there on holiday, did you see…"

She fell silent at the look on Ron's face, allowing Hagrid to continue.

"We chanced, a bit of magic after that. It wasn't a bad journey. Ran into a couple of mad trolls on the Polish border, and I had a slight disagreement with a vampire in a pub in Minsk, but apart from that, couldn't have been smoother.

Had to lay off the magic when we reached the mountains. Partly because they don't like wizards, and partly because Dumbledore warned us You-Know-Who was bound to be after the giants too. Said odds, were he'd sent a messenger off to them already. Had to be careful not to draw too much attention to ourselves in there were Death Eaters around.

Took a while to find them, but found them we did."

"How big are they?" asked Ron.

"About twenty feet. Some of the bigger ones might have been twenty-five."

"How many were there?" asked Harry.

"I reckon about seventy or eighty" said Hagrid.

"Is that all?" said Hermione.

"Yep" Hagrid said sadly. "Eighty left. There were loads once, must've been a hundred different tribes from all over the world. But they've been dying out for ages. Wizards killed a few, of course, but mostly killed each other, and now they're dying out faster than ever. They're not meant to live bunched together like that. Dumbledore says it's our fault, it was the wizards who forced them out, they had no choice but to stick together for their own protection."

Harry wasn't sure what to think about that. It seemed lately a lot of wizarding history was just them screwing over other people magical or not. But at the same time, he could understand the need to push them away from humans given how violent giants seemed to be.

"What happened after you found them?" asked Ginny, urging Hagrid to continue.

"Well, went to speak with them."

"Just like that" Ron awed. "You just walked right into a giant camp?"

"Well, Dumbledore told us how to do it. Give the Gurg gifts, show some respect, you know."

"Give the what gifts?" Hermione asked.

"He said chief" said Harry, getting a look from his bushy haired friend.

It was times like this that Hermione was jealous of Harry's innate ability to understand any language.

"How could you tell which one was the chief?" Ron asked.

Hagrid grunted in amusement.

"Easy, he was the biggest, ugliest, and the laziest. Sitting there waiting to be brought food by the others. Dead goats and the like. Name's Karkus. I'd put him at twenty-two, twenty-three feet, weight of about of a couple of bull elephants, with skin like rhino hide."

"And you just walked up to him" Hermione said breathlessly.

"Well…down to him, they were camped out in a valley. They were in this dip between four pretty high mountains, beside a mountain lake. Karkus was lying by the lake roaring at the others to feed him and his wife. Olympe and I went down the mountainside…"

"But didn't they try and kill you, when they saw you?" Ron asked incredulously.

"It was definitely on some of their minds" Hagrid shrugged. "But we did what Dumbledore told us, which was to hold our gift high and keep our eyes on the chief and ignore the others. The rest of them went quiet and watched us pass, we got right up to Karkus' feet, bowed, and put our present down in front of him."

"What do you give a giant?" Ginny asked. "Food?"

"Nah, he can get food all right for himself. We brought him magic. Giants like magic, just don't like us using it against them. Anyway, that first day we gave him a branch of everlasting fire, Dumbledore bewitched for him. So, I laid it down by Karkus' feet and said, 'a gift from Albus Dumbledore, who sends his respectful greetings.'"

"And what did Karkus say?" Harry asked eagerly.

"Nothing. Didn't speak English."

"You're kidding!"

"Didn't matter. Dumbledore warned us that might happen. Karkus knew enough to yell for a couple of giants that could translate for us."

"Did he like the present?" Ginny asked.

"Oh yeah, went great once they understood what it was" said Hagrid, turning his dragon steak over to press the cooler side to his swollen eye. "Very pleased. So, then I said, 'Albus Dumbledore requests to speak with the chief's messenger when he returns tomorrow with another gift."

"Why couldn't you speak with them that day?" Hermione asked.

"Dumbledore wanted us to take it slow. Let them see we keep our promises. Tell them 'we'll come back tomorrow with another present', and when we do come back with another present – give a good impression, see? And gives them time to test out the first present – find out if it's a good one, and get them eager for the next one. In any case giants like Karkus – overload them with information and they'll kill you just to simplify things. So, we bowed out, found ourselves a nice cave to spend the night in, and the following morning we found Karkus waiting for us, looking all eager."

"And you talked to him?"

"Oh yeah. First, we presented him with a nice battle helmet – goblin made and indestructible – then we sat down and talked."

"What did he say?"

"Not much. Listened mostly. But there were good signs. He'd heard of Dumbledore, heard he'd argued against the killing of the last giants in Britain. Karkus seemed interested in what he had to say. So were a few others – especially the ones who had some English in them, they gathered round and listened too. We were hopeful when we left that day. Promised to come back next day with another present."

"I'm guessing something went wrong" said Harry.

Hagrid sighed, confirming Harry's suspicions.

"I told you giants aren't meant to live together in big groups like that. They half kill each other every few weeks. The men and women fight each other, the remnants of the old tribes' fight each other, and that's even without the squabbles over food and the like. Seeing as their whole race is about finished, you'd think they'd lay off each other but…"

"Something happened to Karkus, didn't it?" said Hermione.

"Yeah. That night a fight broke out. We saw it from the mouth of our cave. Went on for hours, when the sun came up the snow was scarlet and Karkus' head was lying at the bottom of the lake. There was a new chief, Golgomath." Hagrid sighed deeply. "Well, we hadn't bargained on a new chief two days after we'd made friendly contact, had a funny feeling Golgomath wouldn't be so keen to listen to us, but we had to try."

"You went to speak to him" Ron said incredulously. "After you'd seen him rip off another giant's head."

"Course we did. We hadn't gone all that way just to give up after two days! We went down with the next present. Knew it was no good before I'd even opened my mouth. He was sitting there wearing Karkus' helmet, leering at us. Golgomath's massive, one of the biggest there. Black hair with matching teeth, and a necklace of bones – some looked human. Well, I gave him the gift said it was a present for the giant's chief – next thing I know, I'm hanging upside down by my feet – two of his mates had grabbed me."

Hermione and Ginny wore matching expressions, fearing for Hagrid's safety despite him sitting right in front of them.

"How'd you get away?" asked Harry.

"Wouldn't have made it without Olympe" said Hagrid. "She pulled out her wand and did some of the fastest spell work, I've ever seen. Hit the two holding me right in the eyes, dropped me straightaway. But we were in trouble now – we'd used magic against them, and that's what giants hate about wizards. Had no choice but to leg it out of there, no way we were going to be able to march into their camp again."

"Blimey, Hagrid" Ron breathed.

"So how come it's taken you so long to get back if you were only there for three days?" asked Hermione.

"We didn't leave after three days!" said Hagrid, looking outraged. "Dumbledore was depending on us!"

It was a testament to their patience that neither Harry nor his friends so much as rolled their eyes at Hagrid's devotion to Dumbledore. They knew their friend wouldn't appreciate nor believe anything they said against the headmaster.

"But you just said there was no way you could go back" said Ginny.

"Not by daylight, we couldn't" said Hagrid. "We had to rethink a bit. Spent a couple of days lying low up in the cave, watching. And what we saw wasn't good."

"Did he rip more heads off?" asked Hermione, sounding squeamish.

"No, but I wish he had."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean we soon found out he didn't object to all wizards – just us."

"Death Eaters?" Harry guessed.

"Couple of them were visiting him every day, bringing gifts to Golgomath" Hagrid said darkly. "Recognized one of them – Walden Macnair, works as an executioner for the Ministry's Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. Man's a maniac, likes killing as much as Golgomath, no wonder they were getting on so well."

"So Macnair's persuaded the giants to join You-Know-Who" said Hermione.

"Hold your hippogriffs, I haven't finished my story yet!" Hagrid said indignantly. It seems he enjoys telling a good story. "Me and Olympe talked it over an agreed that just cause the chief favored You-Know-Who didn't mean all of them would. We had to try and persuade some of the others, the ones who hadn't wanted Golgomath in charge."

"How could you tell which ones were those?" asked Ron.

"Well, they were the ones being beaten to a bloody pulp. The ones with any sense were keeping out of Golgomath's way, hiding out in caves around the valley, just like we were. So, we went poking around at night, didn't want to risk tangling with the Death Eaters if we could help it.

Course Olympe was raring to attack. She's something when she's roused, fiery – suspect it's the French in her…"

Hagrid paused, going misty-eyed at the thought of Madam Maxime. Harry kindly allowed him thirty seconds to reminisce before loudly clearing his throat.

"So, what happened?" he asked. "Did you talk to any of the other giants?"

"What? Oh…oh yeah, we did. Yeah, on the third night after Karkus was killed, we found three giants hiding out in a cave."

"Cave must've been cramped" said Ron.

"Wasn't room to swing a kneazle" said Hagrid.

"Did they attack when they saw you?" asked Ginny.

"Nah, course they probably would have if they'd been in any condition to. All three of them had taken a beating from Golgomath's lot, took all they had just to crawl to the nearest shelter they could find. Anyway, one of them could speak English and translated for the others, and they seemed to like what we had to say. So, we kept going back to visit the wounded. I reckon we had about six or seven of them convinced at one point."

"What do you mean 'at one point', Hagrid?" Hermione asked.

"Golgomath's lot raided the caves" he said sadly. "The ones that survived didn't want anything to do with us after that. If they're smart, they'll be moving away from the mountains now too."

"Which just leaves the giants following Golgomath, who's chosen to side with You-Know-Who."

A sense of gloom swept through the cabin as it seemed Voldemort's forces were constantly growing in power.

"Maybe, I can talk to them" said Harry. "Magical creatures tend to respect Soul Reapers."

"You think you can get them to join us instead?" asked Ginny.

"Maybe or at least get them to stay out of the battle."

"It's not a bad idea" said Hagrid. "They should be willing to listen."

"Great, then tomorrow I'll go visit the giants" said Harry.

* * *

After receiving a few directions from Hagrid and quick trip through a Senkaimon, Harry found himself in a remote mountain region of Northern Europe. Following Hagrid's directions and his own senses, it didn't take long for Harry to find the giant's camp.

At the appearance of a Soul Reaper in their camp the giants with only one exception immediately ceased whatever they were doing, and moved to stand on either side of Harry, giving him a clear path to their leader, Golgomath, who was napping by the lakeside, basking in his new position.

Matching Hagrid's description the giant was easily the largest one there. Harry couldn't help but feel his temper flare as he noticed the necklace of human bones around the giant chief's neck.

"I'm here to speak with you, Golgomath!" Harry announced, trying to get the giant's attention.

When that failed, the Substitute Soul Reaper decided to take a more aggressive approach. Releasing his spirit energy, Harry took some pleasure in shocking the giant chief out of his slumber, seeing real fear in Golgomath's eyes as he felt the weight of Harry's spiritual pressure.

"Like I said, I'm here to speak with you, Golgomath" Harry said authoritatively.

Faced with angry Soul Reaper the giant chief wisely chose to stand at attention, waiting for Harry to continue.

"A friend of mine came here to speak with your last chief, the one you killed. I don't care about that. But I do care that you'd not only chosen to have him and his traveling companion attacked, but you've also decided to take up with my enemies."

Harry could practically feel the nervous energy coming from the giants. It seemed they realized he was talking about Golgomath's supporters' attack on Hagrid and Maxime, and their leader's alliance with the Death Eaters.

Golgomath said nothing to deny or defend his actions, choosing to wait for the Substitute Soul Reaper's next move.

"I don't care if you don't choose to support Dumbledore" said Harry. "But if you don't, it's in your best interest to stay off the battlefield. Because if you side with Voldemort, I won't show mercy."

A low growl built in Golgomath's throat as Harry finished his threat. But the giants were a violent race and Golgomath's bloodlust seemed to surpass even those of his brethren. The Death Eaters had come to him promising power beyond imagining, the strength to challenge even the Soul Reapers.

Harry noticed the rage in Golgomath's eyes at his ultimatum. The giant chieftain had only recently taken power and didn't like it being challenged so soon, even by a Soul Reaper. So, he wasn't surprised when Golgomath dropped his fist down on him, attempting to crush him with his greater size.

None of the other giants knew what to do, when Harry vanished from sight, reappearing behind Golgomath, with both swords drawn.

"I warned you: no mercy." Harry calmly sheathed his zanpakutō, a second later the giants were showered in Golgomath's blood as his body practically exploded in a gory mess, as his body dropped to the ground in two parts – perfectly bisected down the middle.

Harry gave the remaining giants a look, warning them that if they attacked him or his friends they'd meet the same fate.


	16. I Got 99 Problems and a Witch is One

I do not own Bleach or Harry Potter the both belong respectively to Tite Kubo and J.K. Rowling

* * *

Harry didn't tell anyone the bloodier details of his meeting with the he was sure Ron, Hermione, and Ginny would understand, Harry didn't wasn't so sure about Hagrid, remembering how many of the Order members looked at him when he confessed to having killed before. It was probably for the best as that Monday morning Harry and his friends were glad to see Hagrid taking his place at the staff table.

Though not everyone shared in their delight. Some students were exchanging glum looks and shaking their heads in despair. It was obvious that many of them preferred Prof. Gubbly-Plank as a teacher, and the worst part was that a very small, unbiased part of Harry knew they had good reason to. Gubby-Plank's classes never carried much of if any risk of injury, let alone that of having their head ripped off.

It was with a certain amount of apprehension that Harry, Ron, and Hermione headed down to Hagrid's on Tuesday, heavily muffled against the cold. Harry was worried, not only about what Hagrid might have decided to teach them, but also about how the rest of the class, particularly Malfoy and his cronies, would behave if Umbridge was watching them.

As luck, would have it, the High Inquisitor was nowhere to be found as they struggled through the snow towards Hagrid, who was waiting for them on the edge of the forest. His appearance was far from reassuring; the bruises from Saturday night were still clearly noticeable and with some of his cuts still bleeding, the students were starting panic.

Harry couldn't understand how he could still be bleeding. It was then that he realized that in all the time they spent discussing his trip, Hagrid had never once mentioned how he had gotten so hurt in the first place. Harry had just assumed it was the giants, but now was worrying that perhaps Hagrid had been attacked by some creature whose venom was preventing his wounds from healing.

As though to complete the ominous picture, Hagrid picked up what looked like a half dead cow and threw it over his shoulder.

"We're working in here today!" he called happily, to the approaching students, jerking his head back the dark trees behind him. "Bit more sheltered! Anyway, they prefer the dark…"

"What prefers the dark?" Harry heard Malfoy say sharply to Crabbe and Goyle, a trace of panic in his voice. "What did he say prefers the dark — did you hear?"

Harry remembered the only time Malfoy had entered the forest before now; he hadn't been very brave then either. He smiled to himself as he remembered a terrified Draco Malfoy running off screaming into the night, back in their first year; after the Slytherins' song last Quidditch match anything that caused Malfoy discomfort was alright with him.

"Ready?" Hagrid said enthusiastically, looking around at the class. "Right, well, I've been saving a trip into the forest for your fifth year. Thought we'd go and see these creatures in their natural habitat. Now, what we're studying today is pretty rare, reckon I'm probably the only person in Britain who's managed to train them."

"And you're sure they're trained?" Malfoy asked fearfully. "Wouldn't be the first time you've brought wild stuff to class."

The Slytherins murmured agreement and a few Gryffindors looked as though they thought Malfoy had a fair point too, last year's blast ended skrewts, came to mind.

"Course their trained" Hagrid scowled, hoisting the dead cow a little higher on his shoulder.

"So, what happened to your face, then?" Malfoy demanded.

"Mind your own business! Now if you're done asking stupid questions, follow me!"

Hagrid turned and entered the forest. Nobody seemed eager to follow. Harry glanced at Ron and Hermione, who sighed but nodded, and the three of them set off after Hagrid, the rest of the class following behind.

They walked for about ten minutes until they reached a place where the trees stood so closely together that it was as dark as twilight and there was no snow on the ground at all. Hagrid deposited his half a cow with a grunt on the ground, stepped back, and turned to face his class again, most of whom were creeping toward him from tree to tree, peering around nervously as though expecting to be set upon at any moment.

"Gather round, gather round" Hagrid said encouragingly. "Now, they'll be attracted by the smell of the meat but I'm going to give them a call anyway, because they'll like to know it's me…"

Hagrid turned and gave an odd, shrieking cry that echoed through the dark trees like the call of some monstrous bird. Nobody laughed; most of them looked too scared to make a sound. It took two more calls but eventually the wait was over.

One of the black winged skeletal horses that pull the carriages emerged from behind the trees. It looked around at the class for a few seconds (focusing especially on Harry), swishing its long black tail, bowed its head and began to tear flesh from the dead cow with its pointed fangs.

"Why doesn't Hagrid call again?" Ron asked.

"What're you talking about-it's right there" said Harry, pointing at the skeletal horse.

That's when it struck him. All this time they had assumed the creature had been a type of spirit but if Ron couldn't see it then it had to be some special kind of magical creature. That's why it wasn't visible to everyone even in a place as magically charged as the Hogwarts grounds.

Ron wasn't the only one unable to see the creature. Most of the class were wearing confused expressions, looking everywhere but the horse standing a few feet in front of them. There were only three other people who seemed to be able to see them: a stringy Slytherin boy standing just behind Goyle, watching the horse eat with great disgust, Neville, whose eyes were following the swishing progress of the long black tail, and Hermione, who seemed to be intensely studying the creature.

Harry just couldn't seem to figure out why only those three besides himself seemed to be able to see the horse.

"Oh, and here comes another one!" Hagrid said proudly, as a second black horse appeared, its leathery wings folded close to its body, as it gorged on the meat. "Now…put your hands up, who can see them?"

Pleased he was going to get some answers, Harry raised his hand. Hagrid nodded, not surprised that he could see the horses, nor did he seem surprised that Neville could as well.

"Excuse me" Malfoy sneered. "but what exactly are we supposed to be seeing?"

Hagrid pointed at the cow carcass on the ground. The whole class stared at it for a few seconds, then several people gasped, though Harry heard what sounded like a few of the girls squealing. Understandable as from their perspective they could only see bits of flesh stripping themselves from the bones and vanishing into thin air.

"What's doing it?" his housemate Parvati demanded, retreating behind the nearest tree in fear. "What's eating it?"

"Thestrals" Hagrid said proudly. "Hogwarts has a whole herd of them. Now, who knows…"

"But they're really, really unlucky" Parvati interrupted. "They're supposed to bring all sorts of horrible misfortune on people who can see them. Prof. Trelawney told me once…"

This got a laugh out of Hagrid who explained it was simply a common wizarding myth, like the grim. He called them clever and explained that they were what pulled the school carriages. But this did nothing to calm the girl.

"Don't worry, they won't hurt you" Hagrid said patiently. "Right, now who can tell me why some of you can see them and some can't?"

Unsurprisingly Hermione had the answer.

"The only people who can see thestrals are people who have seen death" she explained.

Now it made sense to Harry, why Ron was the only one of them that couldn't see the thestrals. Harry had seen death several times (Quirrell, Lorene, and Cedric) Hermione's first death was the Fullbringer, Dilan. Ron was the only one out of the three of them to never actually see someone die.

"That's exactly right" Hagrid said solemnly. "Ten points to Gryffindor. Now, thestrals…"

"Hem, hem."

Umbridge had arrived, standing a few feet from Harry, wearing a green hat and cloak, clipboard at the ready. Something told Harry this wasn't going to be good.

Unsurprisingly Umbridge had done nothing but attack Hagrid during his so-called inspection. Bending and twisting his and the students' words to suit her agenda.

"That foul, lying, twisting old gargoyle!" stormed Hermione half an hour later, as they made their way back up to the castle. "You see what she's up to? It's her thing about half-breeds again. She's trying to make Hagrid out as some dim-witted troll, just because his mother's a giantess. It's not fair, that really wasn't a bad lesson at all – in fact for Hagrid, it was really good!"

"I'm just surprised so many people could see them" said Ron. "Three in a class. Makes me wish I could…err, never mind" he said quickly, at the odd looks he received from Harry and Hermione. "I wasn't thinking."

"Forget it, Ron" said Harry, not wanting to get into anything. Hermione sharing the same mindset also decided to let the matter rest.

* * *

Time passed and December soon arrived bringing with it more snow and an avalanche of homework for the fifth years. Ron and Hermione's prefect also became more tiring as Christmas approached. They were called upon to supervise the decoration of the castle ("You try putting up tinsel when Peeves has got the other end and is trying to strangle you with it" said Ron), watch over first and second years spending their break times inside because of the bitter cold ("And they're cheeky little snot rags. We definitely weren't that rude when we were in first year" said Ron), and to patrol the corridors in shifts with Argus Filch, who suspected that the holiday spirit might show itself in an outbreak of wizard duels ("He's got dung for brains" Ron said furiously).

They were so busy, it seemed Hermione couldn't find the time to organize a lot of the more formal S.O.M.E. meetings. Though Harry, Ron, and Ginny suspected it had more to do with her parents' absence – noticing a drop in their friend's mood the closer they got to Christmas.

This of course meant there was more time devoted to the group's defense lessons. It was just as well, as Harry found himself having a little more time now that he wasn't worrying about Quidditch practice. Though he did miss being on the team, he had to admit Ginny was doing him proud. Angelina even (begrudgingly) admitted as much, though she didn't appreciate him leaving in the middle of the season. He was just lucky she bought his excuse about wanting to keep Umbridge off their backs.

For the last S.O.M.E. meeting before the holidays Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny arrived early to the Room of Requirements. Good thing too, as it soon became apparent that Dooby had taken it upon himself to decorate the place for Christmas. They could tell the little elf had done it because no one else would've strung a hundred golden baubles from the ceiling, each showing a picture of Harry's face, all saying: HAVE A VERY HARRY CHRISTMAS!

"I think Dobby forgot, I'm not the group leader" Harry groaned, as he started tearing the decorations down.

"Oh, but I so looking forward to having a 'Harry Christmas" Ginny teased, while her brother was laughing too hard to form words.

"It really isn't that bad Harry" said Hermione, trying and failing to hold in her laughter.

While he wasn't a fan of the decorations, Harry was just glad to hear Hermione laugh again. A sentiment shared by Ron and Ginny. After getting themselves under control Hermione, Ron, and Ginny started helping to take down the 'Harry' decorations, managing to finish just before the first arrival, Luna Lovegood.

"Hello" she said dreamily, looking around at what remained of the decorations. "These are nice, did you put them up?" she asked focusing on Harry.

"No, it was Dobby" said Ginny, mindful of the strange discomfort Harry felt towards Luna.

"Mistletoe" Luna said dreamily, pointing to a large clump of berries placed almost over Harry's head. He jumped out from under it, not noticing the disappointed look on Ginny's face. "Good thinking" she said seriously. "It's often infested with nargles."

Harry was saved from having to ask just what a nargle was by the timely arrival of the rest of more of the S.O.M.E. members and within five minutes they were in full attendance.

Being so close to the holidays Hermione kept things light, allowing most the first half of the meeting to be more of a social gathering. As he looked around the room seeing the different Houses and years having a good time together, Harry was once again in awe of just what his friend had managed to accomplish.

Afterwards, during the second half Harry led the group in a review of everything they'd done so far.

"We'll practice in pairs. Starting with the Impediment Jinx for ten minutes, then we can get out the cushions and work on the Stunning Charm."

They all divided up, with Harry partnered with Neville. The room was soon full of intermittent cries of "Impedimenta!" People froze for a minute or so, during which their partners would stare aimlessly around the room watching other pairs at work, then would unfreeze and take their turn at the jinx. Neville had improved beyond all recognition. After a while, when Harry had unfrozen three times in a row, he had Neville join Ron and Hermione again so that he could walk around the room and watch the others.

After ten minutes on the Impediment Jinx, they laid out cushions all over the floor and started practicing Stunning again. Space was too confined to allow them all to work this spell at once; half the group observed the others for a while, then swapped over. Harry felt himself positively swelling with pride as he watched them all. True, Neville did Stun Padma Patil rather than Dean, at whom he had been aiming, but it was a much closer miss than usual, and everybody else had made enormous progress.

An hour later, their defense lesson came to an end, and Hermione asked(forced) Harry to give a closing address to the group.

"You're all doing great" Harry said proudly. "When we get back from the holidays we can start on some big stuff – maybe even the Patronus."

There was a murmur of excitement. The room began to clear in the usual twos and threes; most people wished Harry and Hermione a Happy Christmas as they went. Though when Luna passed she stopped and told Harry once again "You should probably handle that." Which still made no sense to the Substitute Soul Reaper, and did nothing to help the unease he felt around the strange girl.

Once everyone took their leave Ron, Ginny, Hermione, and Harry started collecting the cushions and stacking them neatly away. Just as they were finishing up, the door opened with Cho Chang standing in the entryway.

"Is something wrong, Cho?" Hermione asked, assuming the Ravenclaw girl was looking for her.

"N-No, I was just wondering if I could speak to Harry?" she asked.

"Sure" said Harry.

Telling his friends, they could go on ahead of him, Harry waited for Cho to speak. Instead she let out hearty sniffle, as tears started to pour down her face. Harry had learned a lot about himself and his abilities in recent years but sadly no one had ever taught him how to comfort a crying girl. Nor did anyone warn him just how uncomfortable it made you.

"What's up?" Harry asked feebly. _"Nakatsukasa, I need help!"_

" _And what makes you believe I am an expert in these matters?"_ his zanpakutō spirit replied, sounding far too amused for Harry's liking.

" _You're a girl. Can't you give me some advice?"_ what was the point in having a female zanpakutō if you couldn't ask her for advice in these situations.

" _Sorry to disappoint but I have as much experience as you in such matters"_ said Nakatsukasa. Harry couldn't be sure but he had a feeling she was rolling her eyes at him. _"Though I might suggest turning your focus back to Cho."_

Receiving no real help from his zanpakutō, Harry did just that catching the tail end of Cho's breakdown as the girl managed to form words amidst her sobs.

"It's just…learning all this stuff…It just makes me…wonder if he'd known it all…he'd still be alive…"

It made sense. Harry still regretted not being able to save Cedric, it only made sense that his girlfriend would want to talk to him about his death.

"He did know his stuff" Harry said heavily. "He was really good at it, or he could never have got to the middle of that maze. But if Voldemort really wants to kill you, you don't stand a chance."

Cho hiccupped at the sound of Voldemort's name, but stared at Harry without flinching.

"You survived when you were just a baby" she said quietly.

"Yeah, well, that was more likely thanks to my mom" he said wearily. "Everyone just felt like giving me the credit."

"I know it must be horrible for you" she said, mopping her eyes on her sleeve. "Me mentioning Cedric, when you saw him die…I suppose you just want to forget about it."

Harry didn't say anything to that; it was true, but he felt heartless saying it.

"You're a r-really good teacher, you know" Cho said, with a watery smile. "I've never been able to stun anything before."

"Thanks" Harry said awkwardly.

There was an uncomfortable silence between them as Cho took a few tentative steps towards Harry, who now felt a burning desire to run from the room and, at the same time, a complete inability to move his feet.

"Mistletoe" Cho said quietly, pointing at the ceiling over his head.

"Yeah" said Harry, mouth going dry. "It's probably full of nargles, though."

"What are nargles?"

"No idea" said Harry. "You'd have to ask Luna."

Cho made a funny noise halfway between a sob and a laugh. She stepped in closer. Cho was so close now Harry could've counted the freckles on her nose.

"I really like you, Harry."

He could not think. A tingling sensation was spreading throughout him, paralyzing his arms, legs, and brain. She was much too close. He could see every tear clinging to her eyelashes. Before he even knew what was happening Harry felt Cho's lips on his own.

Caught completely off guard, Harry just stood there unsure of what to do or say, as Cho continued to cry. So, absorbed with the situation with Cho, he failed to notice Ginny standing in the doorway, with tears of her own building in her eyes.

* * *

Half an hour later, Harry returned to the Gryffindor common room to find Ron and Hermione sitting by the fireplace; everyone else had gone to bed. As he neared, Harry noticed Hermione had a worried expression on her face, the reason being the absolutely furious look on Ron's.

Before he could ask what was bothering him, Ron practically jumped out of his seat, aiming his fist at Harry. While a good attempt, Harry's well-honed reflexes saw him catch Ron's fist and proceed to flip him over his shoulder, leaving the angry red head flat on his back.

"What is wrong with you?" Harry asked, annoyed by the sudden attack from his best friend.

"Ron just calm down" said Hermione.

But Ron wasn't in the mood to listen. Weasley temper in full effect, he instead drew his wand on Harry, who simply put up his hands not wanting to fight his friend.

"You've got a lot of nerve, Potter" Ron growled.

"Ron, I've got no idea what you're talking about" said Harry, growing more confused by the second. "Just think about what you're doing, mate."

"You don't get to call me that. Not after what you did to Ginny!"

In his bought of brotherly furry, Ron fired off a curse, forcing Harry to dive for cover behind an armchair.

"Ron, stop!" Hermione cried, as the Weasley boy kept up his assault.

Getting tired of being Ron's punching bag, Harry drew his wand. Reaching over the top of the armchair he cast the first spell that came to mind.

"Expelliarmus!" at his command a jet of red light fired from the tip of Harry's wand.

Expecting Harry's go to spell, Ron quickly cast a Shield charm protecting him from the Disarming spell. But the angry Weasley had no defense against Harry's next move.

"Bakudō # 1: Sai!"

Ron could only struggle in vain as the power of Harry's kidō forcibly locked his arms together behind his back. His struggling amounted to nothing more than cause him to fall forward leaving lying at Harry's feet.

"Ok, someone want to explain what's going on?" he demanded.

"You were taking a while so Ginny went back to check on you" said Hermione.

"Oh" Harry said weakly. _Ginny must've saw Cho kiss me. Wait. Was this what Luna's been trying to warn me about?!_

"Yeah, and after you spent all that time leading Ginny on like that" Ron growled.

"Ron I didn't kiss Cho. She kissed me" Harry explained. "She just caught me off guard. I wasn't trying to lead Ginny on. I swear."

"See Ron, I told you Harry wouldn't do something like that" said Hermione.

Ron however wasn't so quick to believe Harry. He wanted to believe the best of his friend but at the same time he couldn't forgive anyone that hurt his sister.

"Ok but you better fix this" he said at last.

With Ron calmed down, Harry released the kidō just as Prof. McGonagall charged into the common room. They expected her to start scolding them about the damages, sadly she had something far more grave to announce:

"There's been an incident. Arthur Weasley has been attacked."


	17. A Call for Help

I do not own Bleach or Harry Potter the both belong respectively to Tite Kubo and J.K. Rowling

* * *

After collecting Ginny, and the twins, Prof. McGonagall led them all to Dumbledore's office, where the headmaster was waiting patiently for them.

"What's going on?" asked Ginny. "Prof. McGonagall said Dad was hurt."

"Yes, your father has been injured in the course of his work for the Order of the Phoenix" said Dumbledore. "He has been taken to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. Your mother is already there."

"How're we going?" asked Fred, looking shaken. "Floo powder?"

"No" said Dumbledore. "Floo powder is not safe at the moment, the network is being watched. You will be taking a Portkey" he pointed to an old kettle lying innocently on his desk. "You have all used one before?" Harry and the others nodded, each reaching out to touch some part of the kettle.

Then suddenly there was a flash of flames in the middle of the office, leaving behind a single golden feather, that floated gently to the ground.

"It's Fawkes' warning" said Dumbledore, catching the feather as it fell. "She must know you're out of your beds. Minerva, go and head her off – tell her anything."

The last scene they saw before the Portkey activated was Prof. McGonagall rushing out of the office in a swish of tartan.

* * *

The Portkey delivered them to what appeared to be a crowded reception area where rows of witches and wizards sat upon rickety wooden chairs, some looking perfectly normal and perusing out-of-date copies of Witch Weekly, others sporting gruesome disfigurements such as elephant trunks or extra hands sticking out of their chests.

Witches and wizards in lime-green robes were walking up and down the rows, asking questions and making notes on clipboards like Umbridge's. Harry noticed the emblem embroidered on their chests: a wand and bone, crossed.

 _They must be the Healers_ Harry realized, remembering the wizarding terminology for doctor.

"Over here!" Mrs. Weasley called, summoning them to her side in the queue in front of a plump blonde witch, working the inquiries desk.

At the front of the queue, a young wizard was performing an odd on-the-spot jig and trying, in between yelps of pain, to explain his predicament to the witch behind the desk.

"It's these — ouch — shoes my brother gave me — ow — they're eating my — OUCH — feet — look at them, there must be some kind of — AARGH — jinx on them and I can't — AAAAARGH — get them off —" He hopped from one foot to the other as though dancing on hot coals.

"The shoes don't prevent you reading, do they?" the blonde witch said irritably, pointing at a large sign to the left of her desk. "You want Spell Damage, fourth floor. Just like it says on the floor guide. Next!"

The wizard hobbled and pranced sideways out of the way, the Weasley party moved forward a few steps and Harry read the floor guide:

 _ **ARTIFACT ACCIDENTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Ground Floor (Cauldron explosion, wand backfiring, broom crashes, etc.)**_

 _ **CREATURE-INDUCED INJURIES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . First Floor (Bites, stings, burns, embedded spines, etc.)**_

 _ **MAGICAL BUGS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Second Floor (Contagious maladies, e.g., dragon pox, vanishing sickness, scrofungulus)**_

 _ **POTION AND PLANT POISONING. . . . . . . . . . . .. Third Floor (Rashes, regurgitation, uncontrollable giggling, etc.)**_

 _ **SPELL DAMAGE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Fourth Floor (Unliftable jinxes, hexes, and incorrectly applied charms, etc.)**_

 _ **VISITORS' TEAROOM AND HOSPITAL SHOP. . .. Fifth Floor**_

 _ **If you are unsure where to go, incapable, of normal speech, or unable to remember why you are here, our Welcome Witch will be pleased to help.**_

A very old, stooped wizard with a hearing trumpet had shuffled to the front of the line now.

"I'm here to see Broderick Bode!" he wheezed.

"Ward forty-nine, but I'm afraid you're wasting your time" the witch said dismissively "He's completely addled, you know, still thinks he's a teapot. Next!"

A harassed-looking wizard was holding his small daughter tightly by the ankle while she flapped around his head using the immensely large, feathery wings that had sprouted right out the back of her romper suit.

"Fourth floor" said the witch in a bored voice, without asking, and the man disappeared through the double doors beside the desk, holding his daughter like an oddly shaped balloon. "Next!"

Mrs. Weasley moved forward to the desk.

"I'm here about my husband, Arthur Weasley."

"Arthur Weasley?" the witch mumbled, running her finger down a long list in front of her. "He was brought in a few hours ago, first floor, second door on the right, Dai Llewellyn ward."

Mrs. Weasley thanked the witch, and led them through the double doors and down a long narrow corridor, lined with portraits of famous Healers, and lit by crystal bubbles full of candles floating on the ceiling, giving the appearance of giant soapsuds.

More witches and wizards in lime-green robes walked in and out of the doors they passed; a foul-smelling yellow gas wafted into the passageway as they passed one door, and every now and then they heard distant wailing.

They climbed a flight of stairs and entered the Creature-Induced Injuries corridor, where the second door on the right bore the words: Dangerous Dai Llewellyn ward: serious bites. Underneath this was a card in a brass holder on which had been handwritten Healer-in-Charge: Hippocrates Smethwyck, Trainee Healer: Augustus Pye.

Once inside, Harry thought the ward was small and rather dingy as the only window was narrow and set high in the wall facing the door. Most of the light came from more shining crystal bubbles clustered in the middle of the ceiling. In truth, it felt more like an old small time office clinic then an actual hospital.

The walls were of paneled oak and there was a portrait of a rather vicious looking wizard on the wall, captioned Urquhart rackharrow, 1612– 1697, inventor of the entrail-expelling curse.

 _Why would anyone create a curse like that?_ Harry wondered. _Actually, why would a hospital honor something like that._ Not for the first time, he found himself completely at a loss to understand the logic of the wizarding world.

There were only three patients in the ward, with Mr. Weasley taking up the bed at the far end beside the tiny window. To their great despair, he was unconscious with bandages wrapped tightly around one of his arms.

"Arthur" Mrs. Weasley, gasped tears building in her eyes. Her children were no better as they all crowded around Mr. Weasley's bed, hoping he'd wake up and tell them he'd be fine.

* * *

Wanting to give the Weasleys some privacy, Harry and Hermione stepped out into the hall.

"Wotcher, Harry. Hermione."

The pair turned to see Tonks arriving with Mad-Eye Moody.

"Hi, Tonks. Moody" Harry and Hermione greeted.

"How's Arthur doing?" Moody asked immediately, not wasting time with pleasantries.

"He's asleep right now" said Hermione. "Hopefully he'll wake up soon."

"Do you know what happened to him?" asked Harry.

"We spoke to a Healer on our way here." said Tonks. "Said he's suffering from snake poisoning. He's just lucky Kingsley felt like checking on him, during his break."

At the mention of the word snake, Harry just knew it had to have been Voldemort's pet.

"They shouldn't have any problems treating him then, right?" Hermione asked.

"Ordinarily no" said Moody. "Healer said the damn wound won't stop bleeding. Nothing works so far. Has to be dark magic involved."

"Maybe not" said Tonks, appearing to be looking at Mr. Weasley through the closed door. "Harry, did you notice anything weird about Arthur's arm?"

"Not really, should I have?" asked Harry, now focusing his senses on Mr. Weasley.

"What the bloody hell are you two on about?" Moody demanded. It was bad enough learning there were forces out there he couldn't face, but he wouldn't stand being forced to sit on the sidelines while they discussed something that could save a trusted friend.

"I think they're talking about Mr. Weasley's spiritual pressure" said Hermione, not wanting Moody to break Harry and Tonks' concentration. "Um basically the strength of his…"

"Tonks explained enough" said the ex-Auror. "So, you and the Weasley's youngest are like Potter?"

"Not really. I mean from how it was explained to us, we were just slowly effected by Harry's powers until we were able to see ourselves. The same thing happened to Sirius with Mrs. Potter."

Moody quietly went about observing Harry and Tonks, with his normal eye while his magical one continued to scan the area. All the while the ex-Auror went about trying to think of ways he could identify and deal with the more spiritual threats he now knew to be out there.

"Is it one of your problems then?" he finally spoke up, getting Harry and Tonks' attention.

"Yeah looks like it" said Tonks. "The snake venom isn't what's doing the damage to Arthur."

"Voldemort did something to his snake" said Harry, getting a look of understanding from Hermione, while Moody's good eye narrowed. "Voldemort's basically like a screwed-up version of a Hollow now and he's done the same to his snake. That's what's attacking Mr. Weasley."

"Anything the Healers or you two can do?" Moody questioned.

Regretfully Harry and Tonks agreed that the Healers wouldn't be able to do anything for Mr. Weasley. Unfortunately, neither of them had any medical skills. The grim truth bared down heavily on all of them, when suddenly Harry had an idea.

"Make sure the Healers keep Mr. Weasley alive, I'll be back as soon as I can" he told them.

Ignoring the others' demands to explain himself, Harry took off running, only telling them to make sure Mr. Weasley was moved to a private room, leaving his friends behind to wonder just what was he up to.

* * *

It took a lot of effort and the promise of a large donation from the Black family to the hospital, but eventually they managed to have Arthur moved to a private room.

"And Harry didn't say anything?" Sirius asked, once the Healers left after setting up the new room.

"Nothing" said Hermione.

"Obviously, he went to get help for Arthur" said Tonks, getting hopeful looks from the Weasleys.

With Mr. Weasley seeming to grow worse by the second, they could only hope that whatever Harry was doing would save him.

"Just hope, he makes it here in time" said Remus, unable to look away from the heartbreaking scene of the Molly and her children, gathered around Arthur's bed.

Just then the door to the room burst open and Harry came rushing in pulling an orange haired woman in behind him. While no one recognized the woman, one thing was clear that from her clothing she was clearly a muggle.

"Harry who is this?" asked Tonks, wondering if she'd have to enforce the Statute of Secrecy, while also noticing the woman's unusually high spiritual pressure.

Ignoring Tonks' question, Harry instead directed the woman to Mr. Weasley's bedside. Understandably Molly was hesitant to allow a stranger near her injured husband, but some gentle coaxing from Harry, telling her that the woman would be able to save Arthur's life was enough to convince her.

"Thank you for doing this, Orihime" said Harry.

"It's not a problem, Harry" said Orihime. There was no way she'd refuse to help someone in need. "Sōten Kisshun: I reject."

Unable to understand their exchange, the wizarding members in the room were about to ask Harry to explain who the woman was again, only to have their focus immediately drawn to Mr. Weasley's condition as Orihime's hairpins transformed and surrounded his body in an energy field. They all watched in awe as Arthur's injuries rapidly healed themselves, leaving no trace behind.

Once her work was done, Orihime stepped aside allowing Molly and her children to return to Arthur's side, just as he started to wake up.

Everyone wanted to ask Harry about Orihime, but for the moment none of them wanted to ruin the heartwarming moment as the Weasleys came together tearfully celebrating Arthur's survival.


	18. Christmas with the Kurosakis

I do not own Bleach or Harry Potter the both belong respectively to Tite Kubo and J.K. Rowling

* * *

It had been a few days since Orihime had saved Mr. Weasley's life and the Weasley family had happily ignored the Healers' to keep him over night for study, in favor of enjoying the holidays together at the Burrow. But even as she moved around the kitchen, trying to embrace the familiarity of preparing a meal for her family, Molly couldn't help but cast worried glances at her husband, as he casually read the morning paper.

"You're sure you're alright, Arthur?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"Molly, I feel absolutely fine" Mr. Weasley said brightly. "You heard what Harry said about Mrs. Kurosaki's abilities."

"I know Arthur. It's just…I just can't seem to wrap my head around it all" Molly sighed.

Despite the Healers being unable to find even the smallest trace of the injury or any magic (dark or otherwise) Molly couldn't help but worry that miracle was only a temporary fix.

Wanting to alleviate her worries, Arthur put his paper aside and wrapped his arms reassuringly around his wife.

"I promise I'm alright, Mollywobbles" he said lovingly.

Molly didn't say anything but from the way she leaned into him and the light blush on her cheeks, Arthur was sure he did alright. As he held his wife close to him, Arthur couldn't have felt more grateful to Orihime for saving his life, and giving him for time with Molly.

Just then the sound of food steps overhead alerted the couple that their children were up and about, bringing the moment to an end. And soon enough the children had gathered around the table, helping themselves to Molly's cooking.

"Is it in the Prophet, you being attacked?" asked Fred, indicating the newspaper Mr. Weasley had cast aside.

"No, of course not" said Mr. Weasley, with a slightly bitter smile. "The Ministry wouldn't want everyone to know a dirty great serpent got..."

"Arthur!" Mrs. Weasley said warningly.

"Aww, come on, Mom" George whined. "We're part of the Order too."

"I don't care" she said stubbornly. "Today, we're just going to focus on having a nice holiday"

Still trying to recover from the pain and fear, Molly didn't need any reminders of her husbands near death experience.

"Your mother's right" said Mr. Weasley, understanding what was bothering Molly. "Besides we'll be having guests over soon."

Wanting to show her gratitude, Molly had insisted that Orihime and her family join the Weasleys for Christmas. Though the Japanese woman was hesitant, ultimately Mrs. Weasley succeeded in convincing her.

A few hours later the Weasleys were joined by the visiting Kurosaki family, along with Hermione, and the denizens of Baker Street. The Burrow's halls were filled with the less than pleasant sound of Sirius singing "God Rest Ye Merry, Hippogriffs" at the top of his lungs.

More than once Harry found himself apologizing for his godfather's lack of talent and general insanity. Ichigo merely brushed it off, saying his father was even worse than the dog animagus.

Then of course came the presents. Molly had insisted that they wait for their guests' arrival, so it came as no surprise that the Weasley children were the first under the tree, tearing through wrapping paper, followed closely by the Kurosaki kids, Harry, and Hermione.

Ron would later comment that he made off with a "good haul" this year and no one seemed to say differently. Everyone was more than pleased with their pile of presents. Mrs. Weasley had even somehow managed to knit the traditional Weasley jumpers for the Kurosaki family.

In addition to the hand-knitted sweater from Mrs. Weasley, Remus and Sirius had gifted Harry with an excellent set of books, with highly detailed moving illustrations of counter-jinxes and hexes; they were going to be useful for his plans for the S.O.M.E. group's defense lessons. Tonks sent him a small, working model of a Firebolt broomstick, the Kurosaki kids were amazed when Harry set it free to fly around the room.

It made Harry wish he'd brought his full-sized version; Ron had given him an enormous box of Every-Flavor Beans; Hermione gave him a homework planner, that said things like: "Do it today or later you'll pay!" every time he turned a page. From the look on Ron's face, Harry could tell she'd given him one too. Dobby had sent him, a truly dreadful painting that Harry suspected had been done by the elf himself.

The Kurosaki family turned out to have something up for Harry too – apparently having originally planned to mail it to him; Sora, Masaki, and Kazui gifted him an assortment of candies from the Urahara shop (Ron looked very interested in trying some) Orihime gave Harry a basket of sweetbreads. And Ichigo, admitting he wasn't a very good gift giver, gave Harry a protective kidō based charm. Ichigo explained that it was based on spell work done by his father, and that it would produce a barrier should Harry's body be attacked while he was absent. Harry assured the older Substitute Soul Reaper that he appreciated the gift.

While the kids fawned over their presents, the parents had wisely chosen to stand back and let them have their fun.

"Thank you, for inviting us Mrs. Weasley" said Orihime, reveling in her children's smiling faces.

"I'm the one that's grateful" said Molly. "And please call me, Molly. I can't thank you enough for what you did for Arthur."

Molly and Orihime then fell into a comfortable conversation about their experiences as mothers, laughing at the stories of their children. Orihime found herself amazed that Molly managed to look after seven kids, especially considering Arthur had his moments that made her feel like she had eight. Molly on the other hand given the more traditional views of the wizarding world, she found it impressive that Orihime managed to both be a mother and work with Ichigo to help manage the family clinic. This of course meant the Substitute Soul Reaper found himself answering Arthur's questions on non-magical healing.

But the good cheer didn't last, as an owl swooped into the kitchen delivering an unopened package. Tears welled in Molly's eyes, realizing it was the Weasley jumper that she'd knitted for Percy. Not wanting to ruin everyone's mood, Arthur excused himself and his wife, leaving for their room so they could mourn the failing relationship with their wayward son.

But the damage had already been done. With a loud crack, Fred and George apparated out of the room, and Ginny went outside to take a flight on her broom to calm down. And though it was selfish, Harry couldn't help but feel a sting as he realized him speaking to Ginny now probably would just make her angrier.

"Mind if I ask what's wrong?" asked Ichigo, concerned by the sudden drop in everyone's mood.

"The problems our stupid prat of a brother" Ron growled. "He's siding with the ministry over his own family. Didn't even think to ask if Dad's alright."

"The Ministry of Magic's been denying Voldemort is back" Hermione explained. The light in her eyes dimmed as her mind turned to her captive parents. It took everything she had not to beg for them to beat their location out of Dumbledore. But if the truth got out about the Headmaster, the Order most likely wouldn't survive. And like it or not if things got worse they'd need the organizations help.

"That's the evil wizard messing with Hollows, right?" asked Kazui, his younger siblings looking just as interested.

Sirius and Remus looked surprised that the young children knew what was going on.

"We didn't see a point in lying about why Harry came to us" Ichigo shrugged.

Sirius and Remus could now see why Harry would like Ichigo and his family. The open honesty must've made for a nice change.

"Speaking of, has Mr. Urahara made any progress?" Harry asked, thinking with the festive mood gone, they might as well talk business.

"Says he's found out the Stone has some ability to regenerate" said Ichigo. "He got your letter about the Hollowfied Death Eater, Harry. He thinks the reason you haven't been seeing more of them is that's draining the power the Stone needs to fix itself."

"Don't suppose he's also thought of a way to track Horcruxes? So far all I've done is waste time watching the highlights of Voldemort's past."

The sour looks on Ron and Hermione's faces, said they didn't understand why the headmaster was wasting time either. Dumbledore may not know about the Central 46's ultimatum but they would've thought he'd have more for them than just cryptic clues and lessons.

"I won't pretend to understand how Dumbledore thinks" said Remus. "But perhaps you'd have better results if you told him the full scope of the situation."

"Maybe, but I just don't think I can trust him" Harry sighed. "It still feels like he knows more than he's letting on. But it won't really matter if we can't find the Horcruxes."

"The problem is Horcruxes are soul fragments contained within objects" said Ichigo. "Soul Reapers don't have the ability to interact with souls like that - but Fullbringers do."

"Of course!" Hermione exclaimed. "Fullbringers have the ability to manipulate souls within objects. Locating Horcruxes would be child's play for one."

"Except we don't know any Fullbringers" said Ron.

"Unless you count those bleeding…" Sirius stopped, as he found himself under the golden trio's icy glares. Obviously the three still sympathized with their former adversaries. "Never mind."

"Smart choice" Remus smirked, taking pleasure in seeing the great Sirius Black cowed by his godson and his friends.

"Don't you know a Fullbringer?" Harry asked Ichigo and Orihime.

"Yes, Chad's a Fullbringer" Orihime confirmed. "But he's really busy with his boxing and stuff, so I'm not sure he'd be able to come to England and help you."

"Guess a famous boxer would have a hard time just disappearing for a while" Harry sighed. "And even if we could track down Cass, I doubt she'd help us."

"I'll give Chad a call and see if he can give us a hand" said Ichigo.

"Us?"

"Yeah. It sounds like you need to deal with this guy fast. So, I'll stick around a little to help however I can" Ichigo offered.

Harry couldn't believe it. Sure, they still hadn't made any progress in locating the Horcruxes yet but with Ichigo offering to fight with them, Harry was certain that they'd defeat Voldemort now, the Dark Lord didn't stand a chance.

* * *

Wanting to save everyone's Christmas spirit, Orihime suggested they all go into town for some ice skating. While Sirius and Remus politely declined, saying that Andromeda was insisting her cousin visit her when there wasn't an immediate crisis going on, with her daughter saying the same to the humble werewolf. Arthur eagerly agreed, wanting to try what he guessed was a muggle Christmas tradition. Molly was a bit more hesitant but slowly warmed up to the idea, as she and Arthur slid across the ice. Though they did make sure to stick close to the handrail.

The Weasley kids themselves took more after their father, eagerly trying out the new activity, all with varying degrees of success. Never afraid to make fools out of themselves, Fred and George threw themselves onto the ice, foregoing the use of the handrail, in favor of flailing their arms wildly as they tried to keep their balance – and laughing whole heartedly every time they fell flat on their asses.

Ron wasn't a fan of falling, and didn't seem to see the fun in it, especially when Sora would skate past him with ease, giggling at the sight of him sprawled out over the ice.

Ron blushed, embarrassed by his lack of coordination on the ice, despite it being his first time. But all thought of abandoning the rink fled his mind, once Hermione stopped in front of him and offered him her hand.

"Thanks, Mione" said Ron, accepting her help. "How're you so good at this?"

"My parents" Ron squeezed Hermione's hand, comforting her at the reminder of her missing parents.

"We'll get them back" he promised.

Appreciating the support, Hermione offered to stay by Ron's side and help him get used to being on the ice.

And Masaki ever the daddy's girl stayed close to Ichigo, going around rink holding her father's hand. The only one that seemed to not be having a good time was Harry, who was leaning against the outside railing watching everyone on the ice with a melancholy expression, one pair of skaters in particular.

"Not having fun?" Harry turned to see Orihime, who was giving him a concerned expression.

"It's not the ice skating" he assured her. Harry didn't want Orihime thinking he didn't appreciate the gesture.

Orihime looked out onto the ice trying to see what could've made Harry so sad. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary the Weasley family all seemed to be enjoying themselves, even Ron now that he had Hermione for support. For a moment, she wondered if that was the problem but quickly discarded it when she remembered Harry describing his friends as oblivious to their feelings towards each other. But then she caught sight of Ginny Weasley innocently skating around the rink with her eldest Kazui.

"Oh, girl troubles" she realized, knowing she hit the mark when Harry started to blush. "Do you want to talk about it? I can be a good listener."

Despite his initial embarrassment, Harry followed Orihime over to a table and found himself unloading onto the woman. Maybe it was because she always seemed so kind hearted, or perhaps it had more to do with wanting to have to suffer the teasing that was sure to come if he tried talking to his godfather or Remus. Whatever the reason, Orihime proved to really be a good listener, patiently letting Harry get everything off his chest.

As she listened to Harry's girl problems, Orihime couldn't help but remember when she was in a similar situation and the advice Rangiku had given her.

"Harry, if you want to be with Ginny, why didn't you tell her how you feel?"

"I don't know. It just never seemed like the right time" Harry sighed. "I mean first there was the Triwizard and now Voldemort's back, we never got around to talking about it."

Orihime gave Harry a sympathetic smile.

"Harry, if you're looking for the perfect moment, you're in for a long wait" smiling at the look on Harry's face, Orihime explained. "Harry, there's no perfect moment to tell someone how you feel. Believe me I know it can be scary, I actually had the hugest crush on Ichigo for years before I finally got up the nerve to tell him." _Of course, that was after we nearly died against Yhwach._ "And I caused myself a lot of unnecessary grief before then. My point is Harry, there isn't going to be some magical moment that'll tell you it's time to tell her how you feel. You need to decide how you feel and when **you** are ready tell her how you feel. Life especially this life tends to get to crazy for there to be any other way."

Harry had to admit Orihime had a point. In his experience as a wizard and especially as a Substitute Soul Reaper, there was always going to be some new danger around the corner. He couldn't wait around for the next brief moment of peace because who knows how long each threat will last.

"Just give her some time and when you're ready, tell her how you really feel. I have a feeling it just might work out."

"Thanks, Orihime" Harry smiled. "You know, you give pretty good advice."

"Glad I could help" said Orihime. "Now how about we do some ice skating?"

Feeling a bit better about everything, Harry happily accepted Orihime's offer to go skating. Though it quickly became apparent that he'd never been ice skating before either. Luckily Orihime was more than happy to show Harry the ropes.

That night when Harry went to bed, he was proud to say despite the challenges he'd yet to face, this Christmas turned out to be one of the best.

* * *

AN: alright so now Harry's getting some help from both Ichigo and Orihime. Not a bad Christmas present I hope.


	19. Of Snakes and Centaurs

I do not own Bleach or Harry Potter the both belong respectively to Tite Kubo and J.K. Rowling

* * *

They had barely just returned from Christmas break when Dumbledore summoned Harry to his office for another lesson. This time, Dumbledore presented him with the memory of a house-elf named Hokey, who'd had the misfortune of encountering Voldemort not long after his graduation from Hogwarts. To Harry's great surprise the then future dark lord had found employment at the shop Borgin and Burkes.

"Voldemort was no mere assistant" Dumbledore assured Harry. "He was soon given particular jobs of the type that only exist in a place like Borgin and Burkes, which specializes, as you know, Harry, in objects with unusual and powerful properties. Voldemort was sent to persuade people to part with their treasures and he was by all accounts, unusually gifted at doing so."

"I'm sure he was" Harry said darkly.

"Indeed, and now it is time to hear from Hokey the house-elf, who worked for a very old, very rich witch by the name of Hephzibah Smith."

* * *

Following Dumbledore into the Pensieve, Harry found himself landing in a sitting room in front of a morbidly obese old woman wearing an elaborate ginger wig and a set of robes so pink they'd make Umbridge jealous. The woman in question was sitting in front of a small jeweled mirror, dabbing rouge onto her already scarlet cheeks with a large powder puff, while the tiniest and oldest house-elf Harry had ever seen laced her fleshy feet into tight satin slippers.

"Hurry up, Hokey!" said Hepzibah imperiously. "He said he'd come at four, it's only a couple of minutes to and he's never been late yet!"

She tucked away her powder puff as the house-elf straightened up. The top of the elf's head barely reached the seat of Hepzibah's chair, and her papery skin hung off her frame just like the crisp linen sheet she wore draped like a toga.

"How do I look?" Hepzibah asked, turning her head to admire the various angles of her face in the mirror.

"Lovely, madam" Hokey squeaked.

Harry suspected Hokey's contract required her to lie through her teeth whenever asked that question. In his opinion Hepzibah Smith looked a long way from lovely.

A doorbell rang out, causing both mistress and elf to nearly jump out of their skin.

"Quick, quick, he's here, Hokey!" Hepzibah cried.

The elf scurried out of the room, which was so crammed with ostentatious objects, it was difficult to see how anybody could navigate their way across it without knocking something over.

The house-elf returned within minutes, followed by a tall young man Harry had no difficulty whatsoever in recognizing as Voldemort. He picked his way through the cramped room with an air that showed he had visited many times before and bowed low over Hepzibah's fat little hand, brushing it with his lips.

"I brought you flowers" he said quietly, producing a bunch of roses from nowhere.

"You, naughty boy, you shouldn't have!" Hepzibah squealed, though Harry noticed that she had an empty vase standing ready on the nearest little table. "You do spoil this old lady, Tom. Sit down, sit down. Where's Hokey? Ah…"

The house-elf had come dashing back into the room carrying a tray of little cakes, which she set at her mistress's elbow.

"Help yourself, Tom," said Hepzibah, "I know how you love my cakes. Now, how are you? You look pale. They overwork you at that shop, I've said it a hundred times."

Voldemort smiled mechanically.

"Well, what's your excuse for visiting this time?" she asked, batting her lashes.

"Mr. Burke would like to make an improved offer for the goblin-made armor" said Voldemort. "Five hundred Galleons, he feels it is a more than fair."

"Now, now, not so fast, or I'll think you're only here for my trinkets!" Hepzibah pouted.

"I am ordered here because of them. I am only a poor assistant, madam, who must do as he is told. Mr. Burke wishes me to inquire…"

"Oh, Mr. Burke, phooey!" Hepzibah dismissed. "I've something to show you that I've never shown Mr. Burke! Can you keep a secret, Tom? Will you promise you won't tell Mr. Burke I've got it? He'd never let me rest if he knew I'd shown it to you, and I'm not selling, not to Burke, not to anyone! But you, Tom, you'll appreciate it for its history, not how many Galleons you can get for it."

"I'd be happy to see anything, you want to show me" Voldemort said quietly, and Hepzibah gave another girlish giggle.

"I'll have Hokey bring it out. Hokey, where are you? I want to show Mr. Riddle our finest treasure. In fact, bring both, while you're at it."

"Here, madam," the house-elf squeaked, and Harry saw two leather boxes, one on top of the other, moving across the room as if of their own volition, though he knew the tiny elf was holding them over her head as she navigated her way through the cluttered room.

"Now," said Hepzibah happily, taking the boxes from the elf, laying them in her lap. "I think you'll like this, Tom. Oh, if my family knew I was showing you…they can't wait to get their hands on this!"

She opened the lid. Harry couldn't resist the urge to lean forward a little to get a better view and saw what looked like a small golden cup with two finely fashioned handles.

"I wonder whether you know what it is, Tom? Pick it up, have a good look!"

Voldemort stretched out a long-fingered hand and lifted the cup by one handle out of its snug silken wrappings. Harry thought he saw a red gleam in his dark eyes. His greedy expression was curiously mirrored on Hepzibah's face, except that her tiny eyes were fixed upon the wizard sitting across from her.

"A badger" Voldemort murmured, examining the engraving upon the cup. "Then this was...?"

"Helga Hufflepuff's, as you very well know, you clever boy!" said Hepzibah.

To Harry's disbelief the old woman actually leaned forward and pinched Voldemort's cheek.

"Didn't I tell you I was distantly descended? This has been handed down in the family for years and years. Lovely, isn't it? And all sorts of powers it's supposed to possess too, but I haven't tested them thoroughly, I just keep it nice and safe in here."

She hooked the cup back off Voldemort's long forefinger and restored it gently to its box, too intent upon settling it carefully back into position to notice the shadow that crossed Voldemort's face as the cup was taken away.

"Now then" Hepzibah said happily. "Where's Hokey? Oh yes, there you are — take this away now, Hokey." The elf obediently took the boxed cup, and Hepzibah turned her attention to the much flatter box in her lap. "I think you'll like this even more, Tom" she whispered. "Lean in a little, dear boy, so you can see…of course, Burke knows I've got this one, I bought it from him, and I daresay he'd love to get it back when I'm gone."

She slid back the fine filigree clasp and flipped open the box. There upon the smooth crimson velvet lay a heavy golden locket. Voldemort reached out his hand, without invitation this time, and held it up to the light, staring at it.

"Slytherin's mark," he said quietly, as the light played upon an ornate, serpentine S.

"That's right!" said Hepzibah, delighted, apparently, at the sight of Voldemort gazing at her locket, transfixed. "I had to pay an arm and a leg for it, but I couldn't let it pass, not a real treasure like that, had to have it for my collection. Burke bought it, apparently, from a ragged-looking woman who seemed to have stolen it, but had no idea of its true value—"

Voldemort's eyes flashed scarlet at the words, his knuckles whitening as he tightened his hold on the locket's chain.

"— I daresay Burke paid her a pittance but there you are. Pretty, isn't it? And again, all kinds of powers attributed to it, though I just keep it nice and safe."

She reached out to take the locket back. For a moment, Harry thought Voldemort wouldn't return it, but then he let it slide through his fingers and be returned to its red velvet cushion.

"So, there you are, Tom, dear, and I hope you enjoyed that!" She looked him full in the face and for the first time, Harry saw her foolish smile falter. "Are you all right, dear?"

"Oh yes," said Voldemort quietly. "Yes, I'm very well."

"I thought — but a trick of the light, I suppose" said Hepzibah, looking unnerved. Harry guessed that she too had seen the gleam in Voldemort's eyes. "Here, Hokey, take these away and lock them up again…The usual enchantments."

"Time to leave, Harry," said Dumbledore quietly, and as the little elf bobbed away bearing the boxes.

* * *

Leaving Dumbledore's office, Harry's mind was buzzing with the new information. Hokey, was convicted for accidentally poisoning her mistress. Coincidently around the same time that Voldemort left his job at Borgin and Burkes, disappearing from public view along with Slytherin's locket and the Hufflepuff's cup. With the house elf's last memory being the preparation of Hepzibah's tea, it wasn't hard for Harry to figure out Voldemort must've modified the elf's memory to coverup the theft and murder.

Initially it was difficult for Harry to see the connection, but now things were starting to fall into place for him. The diary, Slytherin's locket, the Gaunt family ring, Hufflepuff's cup, and if what happened to Mr. Weasley was any indication, his pet snake. All of the horcruxes with the exception of himself were items with either personal significance or tied to the Hogwarts Founders.

 _Finally, we're getting somewhere_. Harry was sure there couldn't be that many items still around with ties to the Founders. As he made his way towards the Gryffindor tower, Harry suddenly found himself sidetracked by the sound of some kind of commotion from the entrance hall.

Deciding to investigate, Harry found the entrance hall packed with students. Some were still trying to squeeze their way out of the great hall, forgoing dinner to see what was going on. Others had crammed themselves onto the marble staircase.

Harry pushed forward through a knot of tall Slytherins and saw that the onlookers had formed a great ring, some of them looking shocked, others even frightened. Prof. McGonagall was directly opposite Harry on the other side of the hall; she looked as though what she was watching made her feel faintly ill.

Prof. Trelawney was standing in the middle of the entrance hall with her wand in one hand and an empty sherry bottle in the other, looking utterly mad. Her hair was sticking up on end, her glasses were lopsided so that one eye was magnified more than the other; her innumerable shawls and scarves were trailing haphazardly from her shoulders, giving the impression that she was falling apart at the seams. Two large trunks lay on the floor beside her, one of them upside down; it looked very much as though it had been thrown down the stairs after her. Prof. Trelawney was staring terrified, at Prof. Umbridge.

"No!" she shrieked. "NO! This cannot be happening. . . . It cannot . . . I refuse to accept it!"

"You didn't realize this was coming?" Umbridge said in a high girlish voice, sounding cruelly amused. "Incapable though you are of predicting even tomorrow's weather, you must surely have realized that your pitiful performance during my inspections, and lack of any improvement, would make it inevitable you would be sacked?"

"You c-can't!" Trelawney howled, tears streaming down her face from behind her enormous lenses. "You c-can't sack me! I've b-been here sixteen years! H-Hogwarts is m-my h-home!"

"It was your home." Harry was revolted to see the enjoyment stretching Umbridge's toad-like face as she watched Prof. Trelawney sink, sobbing uncontrollably, onto one of her trunks. "Until an hour ago, when the Minister of Magic countersigned the order for your dismissal. Now kindly remove yourself from this hall. You are embarrassing us."

But she stood and watched, with an expression of gloating enjoyment, as Trelawney shuddered and moaned, rocking back and forth on her trunk in fits of grief.

Having seen enough, Prof. McGonagall broke away from the spectators, and marched straight up to Prof. Trelawney, patting her firmly on the back while withdrawing a large handkerchief from within her robes.

"There, there, Sibyll…Calm down…Blow your nose on this…It's not as bad as you think. You are not going to have to leave Hogwarts."

"Oh really, Prof. McGonagall?" Umbridge said in a deadly voice, taking a few steps forward. "And your authority for that statement is…?"

"That would be mine" said Dumbledore, appearing at the top of the stars.

The crowd of students parted as the headmaster descended the steps, making his way to where Trelawney sat, tearstained and trembling, upon her trunk.

"Yours, Prof. Dumbledore?" said Umbridge, with an especially unpleasant little laugh. "I'm afraid you do not understand the position. I have here—" she pulled a parchment scroll from within her robes, "—an Order of Dismissal signed by myself and the Minister of Magic. Under the terms of Educational Decree Number Twenty-three, the High Inquisitor of Hogwarts has the power to inspect, place upon probation, and sack any teacher she — that is to say, I — feel is not performing up to the standard required by the Ministry of Magic. I have decided that Professor Trelawney is not up to scratch. I have dismissed her."

Much to everyone's surprise, Dumbledore simply smiled. He looked down at Prof. Trelawney, who was still sobbing and choking on her trunk, and said:

"You are quite right, of course, Prof. Umbridge. As High Inquisitor, you have every right to dismiss my teachers. You do not, however, have the authority to send them away from the castle. I am afraid," he went on, with a courteous little bow, "that the power to do that still resides with the headmaster, and it is my wish that Professor Trelawney continue to live at Hogwarts."

At this, Prof. Trelawney gave a wild little laugh in which a hiccup was barely hidden.

"No — no, I'll g-go, Dumbledore! I sh-shall l-leave Hogwarts and s-seek my fortune elsewhere."

"No" said Dumbledore sharply. "It is my wish that you remain, Sibyll." He turned to his deputy headmistress, "Might I ask you to escort Sibyll back upstairs, Prof. McGonagall?"

"Of course," said McGonagall, grabbing her colleague's arm. "Up you get, Sibyll."

Prof. Sprout came hurrying forward out of the crowd and grabbed Trelawney's other arm. Together they guided her past Umbridge and up the marble stairs, with Prof. Flitwick bringing up the rear, Trelawney's luggage levitating behind him.

Umbridge was stood stock-still, staring at Dumbledore, who continued to smile benignly.

"And what," she said in a whisper that nevertheless carried all around the entrance hall. "are you going to do with her once I appoint a new Divination teacher who needs her lodgings?"

"Oh, that won't be a problem," said Dumbledore pleasantly. "You see, I have already found us a new Divination teacher, and he will prefer lodgings on the ground floor."

"You've found" Umbridge said sharply. "You've found? Might I remind you, Dumbledore, that under Educational Decree Twenty-two…"

"The Ministry has the right to appoint a suitable candidate if — and **only** if — the headmaster is unable to find one. And I am happy to say that on this occasion I have succeeded. May I introduce you?"

Dumbledore gestured to the front doors, signaling for them to swing open allowing the night mist to drift inside. Harry wasn't the only one surprised by their new arrival; shocked murmurs filled the hall, as those nearest the doors hastily moved farther back, some of them tripping over in their haste to clear a path.

Through the mist came a face Harry had seen a number of times on his visits to the Forbidden Forest: white-blond hair and astonishingly blue eyes, the head and torso of a man joined to the palomino body of a horse.

"This is Firenze," Dumbledore said happily to a thunderstruck Umbridge. "I think you'll find him suitable."

The look on Umbridge's face was priceless. Finding herself completely speechless. Having nothing to say for once, the High Inquisitor left for her quarters leaving the students to gossip freely.

Harry and Ron spent a good bit of time laughing at the toad-like woman's expense, as they took their seats at the Gryffindor table with Hermione, who was paying them little mind, far more interested in that evening's emergency release of the Daily Prophet, when suddenly gave a yelp that caused everyone in the vicinity to stare at her.

"What?" Harry and Ron asked together.

In response, she spread the newspaper on the table in front of them and pointed at ten black-and-white photographs that filled the whole of the front page, nine showing wizards' faces and the tenth, a witch's. Some of the people in the photographs were silently jeering; others were tapping their fingers on the frame of their pictures, looking insolent. Each picture was captioned with a name and the crime for which the person had been sent to Azkaban.

 _ **Antonin Dolohov**_ a wizard with a long, pale, twisted face who was sneering up at Harry, _**convicted of the brutal murders of Gideon and Fabian Prewett.**_

 _ **Augustus Rookwood**_ , said the caption beneath a pockmarked man with greasy hair who was leaning against the edge of his picture, looking bored, _**convicted of leaking Ministry of Magic Secrets to He Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.**_

But Harry's eyes were drawn to the picture of the witch. Her face had leapt out at him the moment he had seen the page. She had long, dark hair that looked unkempt and straggly in the picture, though he had seen it sleek, thick, and shining. She glared up at him through heavily lidded eyes, an arrogant, disdainful smile playing around her thin mouth. All in all, she was a very twisted version of Andromeda Tonks.

 _ **Bellatrix Lestrange**_ , _**convicted of the torture and permanent incapacitation of Frank and Alice Longbottom.**_

Hermione nudged Harry and pointed at the headline over the pictures, which Harry, concentrating on Bellatrix, had not yet read.

 **MASS BREAKOUT FROM AZKABAN MINISTRY FEARS PETTIGREW IS "RALLYING POINT" FOR OLD DEATH EATERS**

"What?" Harry couldn't believe it. Here was perfect evidence that the Death Eaters were active again, the Ministry decides to blame the whole thing on a dead man. His outrage didn't last long though as he came to a chilling realization. Voldemort was finally starting to get ready to make his move.


	20. Headmaster No More

I do not own Bleach or Harry Potter the both belong respectively to Tite Kubo and J.K. Rowling

* * *

A few days later Harry, Hermione, and Ron were at breakfast. The Weasley boy was attempting to inform his friends about the changes Firenze had made to the Divinations class, but in truth Harry wasn't paying that much attention, his thoughts currently on a different Weasley. Despite things calming down between them after the pleasant holiday there was an uncomfortable awkwardness between Harry and Ginny and he was starting to worry that he'd lost his chance with her.

"Hey, are you listening?" Ron snapped, breaking Harry out of his daze.

"Sorry" Harry said sheepishly. "I was just thinking about something"

Following his line of sight, a knowing smirk made its way onto Hermione's face.

"Still haven't worked up the nerve?" said Hermione. "You know it'd make things a lot easier if you just told Ginny, how you feel."

"I know" Harry sighed. "Orihime told me the same thing.

"Ugh, I don't want to hear this" Ron groaned.

"Really, Ron" Hermione sighed. "You said you wanted Harry and Ginny to work things out."

"Doesn't mean I want him ogling my sister."

"I-I wasn't" Harry stammered, blushing at the wording. "Anyway, how's Firenze's class going?"

Happy for the change in topic, Ron explained Firenze's teaching method was nothing like anything they've experienced at Hogwarts. Firenze's priority wasn't to teach them what he knew, but rather to impress upon them that nothing was foolproof.

"He's not very definite about anything" said Ron. "Oh, yeah, he said he wanted me to pass along a message to Hagrid."

"To Hagrid?" Harry questioned. "What was it?"

"'His attempt is not working. He'd do better to abandon it.'"

But of course, Ron had no idea what the centaur was talking about, and he refused to give him any details. Both Ron and Harry were confused as to why the centaur couldn't tell Hagrid himself, they were both professors after all.

"He doesn't want to bring attention to Hagrid" said Hermione. "Umbridge is going to want revenge on Dumbledore for appointing a new teacher without consulting her, especially another part-human. You saw her face when she saw Firenze."

The boys had to admit it made a lot of sense. Umbridge has already been looking for an excuse to get to Harry, why wouldn't she do the same to Dumbledore, by attacking his staff, only made worse by Harry's friendship with Hagrid.

"Hi, Harry" said a voice behind him. He turned around and found Cho standing there.

"Oh, hi." said Harry, _I so don't need this right now._

"We'll see you in class, Harry" Hermione said firmly, as she gestured to doors of the great hall.

Getting the message, Harry got up from the table and left the great hall with Cho.

"Had a good Christmas?" she asked.

"Yeah, not bad" said Harry.

"Mine was pretty quiet" said Cho, looking rather embarrassed. "Um…there's a Hogsmeade trip next month, did you see the notice?"

"What? Oh no, I haven't checked the notice board since I got back."

"It's on Valentine's Day."

"Right." At this point, Harry had figured out, Cho was trying to ask him out. Problem was he didn't feel that way about her, and no one had thought to tell him how to say no to a girl.

" _Nakatsukasa, any advice?"_ but all he got back was amused laughter from his zanpakutō spirit. _"Fine. Don't come calling to me, when my inner world starts going dark!"_ again more laughter. Harry was on his own.

"I…" _Ok, Harry, just spit it out._ Harry took a deep breath. "Cho, I'm sorry…I don't feel that way towards you."

"Oh, it's ok" Cho said, looking mortified. "Don't worry. I-I'll see you around."

Cho walked away, leaving Harry feeling rather disgusted with himself, thinking he could've found a better way to handle things.

Unfortunately, things didn't get any better for Harry, with Hermione's earlier prediction proving true. Harry had thought the Azkaban breakout would've humbled Umbridge a little, that she might have been abashed at the catastrophe that had occurred right under her beloved Fudge's nose. Instead it only intensified her furious desire to bring every aspect of life at Hogwarts under her personal control.

Every single Care of Magical Creatures lesson was now conducted in the presence of Umbridge and her clipboard., making it difficult to deliver Firenze's warning to Hagrid. Eventually Harry decided to cut Ron a break and went to visit Hagrid's hut in his Soul Reaper form.

When Harry passed along Firenze's message, Hagrid stared at Harry through his still puffy, blackened eyes, before finally pulling himself together.

"Nice bloke, Firenze" he said gruffly. "But he don't know what he's talking about. The attempt's coming on fine."

"Hagrid, what're you up to?" Harry asked seriously. "You've got to be careful, Umbridge already sacked Trelawney and you know she's just waiting for you to give her a reason."

"There's things more important than keeping a job" said Hagrid, though Harry noticed his hands shaking slightly as he spoke. "Don't worry about me, Harry, you've got more important things to do."

Seeing he wasn't going to get any more out of him, Harry left Hagrid's hut in peace.

* * *

Meanwhile, as the teachers and Hermione persisted in reminding them, the O.W.L.s were drawing ever nearer. All the fifth years were suffering from stress to some degree, but Hannah Abbott became the first to receive a Calming Draught from Madam Pomfrey after she burst into tears during Herbology and sobbed that she was too stupid to take exams and wanted to leave school now.

Between Hollow hunting and organizing the S.O.M.E group's defense lessons, Harry had found an effective means of dealing with his stress over the upcoming exams. Maybe they weren't the most leisurely activities but they worked for him. Harry couldn't help but feel a sense of pride after each successful night he managed to save a soul or helped a group member perfect a spell. Especially now with the news of the Azkaban breakout spurring them to work harder than ever.

But nobody had improved more than Neville Longbottom. Something had changed in him, a sort of quiet fury was waiting just beneath the surface, as he worked relentlessly on every new jinx and counter-curse Harry taught the S.O.M.E. members, his plump face screwed up in concentration, apparently indifferent to injuries or accidents, working harder than anyone else in the room. He was improving so fast it was quite unnerving and when Harry taught them the Shield Charm, only Hermione mastered the charm faster than Neville.

And Harry couldn't help but wish Neville would share some of his motivation with Dumbledore, who'd once again summoned him to his office for another trip into Voldemort's past.

"I'm really starting to get tired of these" said Harry, as he walked into the headmaster's office. "Voldemort's already starting to make his move."

"Then you'll be relieved to know this is the end of our lessons Harry" Dumbledore said calmly, despite Harry's attitude. "But first a little background. As you know Voldemort went to work at Borgin and Burkes after his time at Hogwarts. What I didn't tell you was that this wasn't Voldemort's first choice of job. Hardly anyone knew of it at the time — I was one of the few in whom the then headmaster confided — but Voldemort first approached Prof. Dippet and asked whether he could remain at Hogwarts as a teacher."

"He wanted to be a teacher?" Harry couldn't hide his shock. Remembering the story of how the traitor Soul Reaper captain Aizen once taught at their academy, part of Harry wondered if it was standard evil practice for the villain to start off as an instructor.

"Yes. For three reasons I believe, the first being that Voldemort was, I believe, more attached to this school than he has ever been to a person. Hogwarts was where he'd been happiest; the first and only place he'd felt at home."

Harry felt slightly uncomfortable. Though he'd created a home for himself with Sirius and Remus, Harry could still remember the days when he too felt Hogwarts was the only place he could call home.

"Secondly, the castle is a stronghold of ancient magic. Undoubtedly Voldemort penetrated many more of its secrets than most of the students who pass through this place, but he may have felt there were still mysteries to unravel, stores of magic to tap.

And thirdly, as a teacher, he would have had great power and influence over young witches and wizards. I do not imagine for an instant that Voldemort envisaged spending the rest of his life at Hogwarts, but I do think that he saw it as a useful recruiting ground, and a place where he might begin to build himself an army."

"But he didn't get the job" Harry assumed. It surely would've caused a panic if the fearsome Lord Voldemort was discovered to have been a teacher at Hogwarts.

"No, he did not" Dumbledore confirmed. "At only eighteen, Prof. Dippet felt Voldemort was too young, but invited him to reapply in a few years, if he still wished to teach. Which is what brings us tonight's lesson."

"We're watching Prof. Dippet's memory?" Harry guessed.

"No, mine." Dumbledore then summoned the Pensieve to his desk. Together Harry and Dumbledore peered into the stone basin, plunging themselves into the shifting silver mass, as they traveled into the memories of events long passed.

* * *

Harry found himself standing in the very office he'd just left. There was Fawkes slumbering happily on his perch, and sitting behind the headmaster's desk was none other than Dumbledore, looking very much the same as his present-day counterpart, though perhaps his face was little less wrinkled.

The younger Dumbledore seemed to be waiting for something, and sure enough, moments after their arrival, there was a knock on the door and he said, "Enter."

Harry let out a hastily stifled gasp. Voldemort had entered the room. His features were not those Harry had seen emerge from the great stone cauldron the year before: They were not as snake like, the eyes were not yet scarlet, the face not yet mask like, and yet he was no longer handsome Tom Riddle. It was as though his features had been burned and blurred; they were waxy and oddly distorted, and the whites of the eyes now had a permanently bloody appearance, though the pupils were not yet the slits that Harry knew they would become. The Dumbledore behind the desk showed no sign of surprise. Evidently this visit had been made by appointment.

"Good evening, Tom" Dumbledore said easily, as he gestured to a chair "Won't you sit down?"

"Thank you" said Voldemort, as he took the offered seat. "I heard that you had become headmaster. A worthy choice."

"I am glad you approve. May I offer you a drink?"

"That would be welcome. I have come a long way."

The past Dumbledore stood and swept over to the cabinet where he now kept the Pensieve, but which then was full of bottles. Having handed Voldemort a goblet of wine and poured one for himself, he returned to the seat behind his desk.

"So, Tom…to what do I owe the pleasure?"

Voldemort did not answer at once, but merely sipped his wine.

"They do not call me 'Tom' anymore" he said. "These days, I am known as…"

"I know what you are known as" said Dumbledore, smiling pleasantly. "But to me, I'm afraid, you will always be Tom Riddle. It is one of the irritating things about old teachers. I am afraid that they never quite forget their charges' youthful beginnings."

He raised his glass as though toasting Voldemort, whose face remained expressionless. Nevertheless, Harry felt the atmosphere in the room change subtly. Dumbledore's refusal to use Voldemort's chosen name was a refusal to allow Voldemort to dictate the terms of the meeting, and Harry could tell that Voldemort took it as such.

"I am surprised you have remained here so long" Voldemort said after a short pause. "I always wondered why a wizard such as yourself never wished to leave school."

"Well, to a wizard such as myself, there can be nothing more important than passing on ancient skills, helping hone young minds. If I remember correctly, you once saw the attraction of teaching too."

"I see it still. I merely wondered why you — who are so often asked for advice by the Ministry, and who have twice, I think, been offered the post of Minister…"

"Three times at the last count, actually" said Dumbledore. "But the Ministry never attracted me as a career. Again, something we have in common, I think."

Voldemort inclined his head, unsmiling, and took another sip of wine. Dumbledore did not break the silence that stretched between them now, but waited, with a look of pleasant expectancy, for Voldemort to talk first.

"I have returned" he said at last. "Later, perhaps, then Prof. Dippet expected . . . but I have returned, nevertheless, to request again what he once told me I was too young to have. I have come to you to ask that you permit me to return to this castle, to teach. I think you must know that I have seen and done much since I left this place. I could show and tell your students things they can gain from no other wizard."

Dumbledore considered Voldemort over the top of his own goblet for a while before speaking.

"Yes, I certainly do know that you have seen and done much since leaving us" he said quietly. "Rumors of your doings have reached your old school, Tom. I should be sorry to believe half of them."

Voldemort's expression remained impassive as he said, "Greatness inspires envy, envy engenders spite, spite spawns lies. You must know this, Dumbledore."

"You call it 'greatness,' what you have been doing, do you?" Dumbledore asked delicately.

"Certainly" said Voldemort, and his eyes seemed to burn red. "I have experimented; I have pushed the boundaries of magic further, perhaps, then they have ever been pushed."

"Of some kinds of magic. Of some. Of others, you remain . . . forgive me . . . woefully ignorant."

For the first time, Voldemort smiled. It was a taut leer, an evil thing, more threatening than a look of rage.

"The old argument" he said softly. "But nothing I have seen in the world has supported your famous pronouncements that love is more powerful than my kind of magic, Dumbledore."

"Perhaps you have been looking in the wrong places."

"Well, then, what better place to start my fresh researches than here, at Hogwarts? Will you let me return? Will you let me share my knowledge with your students? I place myself and my talents at your disposal. I am yours to command."

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows. "And what will become of those whom you command? What will happen to those who call themselves — or so rumor has it — the Death Eaters?"

Voldemort's eyes flashed red and his slit like nostrils flared; he hadn't expected Dumbledore to know that name.

"My friends" he said, after a moment's pause, "will carry on without me, I am sure."

"I am glad to hear that you consider them friends" said Dumbledore. "I was under the impression that they are more in the order of servants."

"You are mistaken" said Voldemort.

"Then if I were to go to the Hog's Head tonight, I would not find a group of them — Nott, Rosier, Mulciber, Dolohov — awaiting your return? Devoted friends indeed, to travel this far with you on a snowy night, merely to wish you luck as you attempted to secure a teaching post."

There could be no doubt that Dumbledore's detailed knowledge of those with whom he was traveling was even less welcome to Voldemort; however, he rallied almost at once.

"You are omniscient as ever, Dumbledore."

"Oh no, merely friendly with the local barmen" said Dumbledore lightly. "Now, Tom . . ." Dumbledore set down his empty glass and drew himself up in his seat, the tips of his fingers together in a very characteristic gesture. "Let us speak openly. Why have you come here tonight, surrounded by henchmen, to request a job we both know you do not want?"

Voldemort looked coldly surprised. "A job I do not want? On the contrary, Dumbledore, I want it very much."

"Oh, you want to come back to Hogwarts, but you do not want to teach any more than you wanted to when you were eighteen. What is it you're after, Tom? Why not try an open request for once?"

"If you do not want to give me a job…" Voldemort sneered.

"Of course, I don't" said Dumbledore. "And I don't think for a moment you expected me to. Nevertheless, you came here, you asked, you must have had a purpose."

Voldemort stood up. He looked less like Tom Riddle than ever, his features thick with rage.

"This is your final word?"

"It is" said Dumbledore, also standing.

"Then we have nothing more to say to each other."

"No, nothing" said Dumbledore, and a great sadness filled his face. "The time is long gone when I could frighten you with a burning wardrobe and force you to make repayment for your crimes. But I wish I could, Tom. . . . I wish I could…"

For a second, Harry was sure Voldemort's hand had twitched toward his pocket and his wand, but then the moment passed. Instead without another word, Voldemort turned away, and left the office in peace.

* * *

Returning to the present-day version of Dumbledore's office, Harry couldn't help but feel like he was missing something. All of the previous memories showcased Voldemort collecting the items they suspected would one day become his horcruxes, yet this memory held no such event.

"Why?" Harry asked. looking up into Dumbledore's face. "Why did he come back? Did you ever find out?"

"I have some idea" Dumbledore said vaguely. "Though I'm not ready to share it."

"This isn't the time for games!" Harry temper spiked. Voldemort was building his forces and Dumbledore was still choosing to play his games. "I should've known better than to think I could actually work with you."

"Forgive me, Harry. I have not forgotten our agreement. I simply do not wish to burden you with an incomplete theory."

This did nothing to abate Harry's temper. He'd patiently tolerated the headmaster's methods for months now. And while admittedly they'd managed to gain some wisdom all of it meant nothing if Dumbledore chose to hide the final piece of crucial information.

But before Harry could say more the office door swung open and in came Prof. McGonagall, trailing behind her were Minister Fudge, his Auror guard consisting of Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt – whom Harry recognized as an Order member – and finally a far too smug looking Delores Umbridge.

"It's just as I told you, Minister" said Umbridge. "Dumbledore and Potter have been having secret meetings."

"So it seems" said Minister Fudge, taking note of the Pensieve still on the headmaster's desk. "Care to share what you've been discussing Dumbledore?"

"I fail to see what concern it is of yours, Minister, what a teacher discusses with a student" said McGonagall.

"Then you clearly haven't seen the latest decree" said Umbridge said smugly, proudly holding up a piece of parchment that read,

 _ **BY ORDR OF**_

 _ **The High Inquisitor of Hogwarts**_

 _ **Teachers are hereby banned from giving students any information that is not strictly related to the subjects they are paid to teach.**_

"Yes, so do tell Dumbledore just what have you been up to" Fudge sneered.

"If you must know Cornelius, I was informing Harry of Voldemort's past so that we may best combat his return."

Harry couldn't believe Dumbledore had actually told Fudge the truth behind their meetings. He'd expected some clever lie or word play to trick the Minister and Umbridge, but it seemed the truth was just as effective as he watched Fudge turn an angry shade of purple that reminded Harry of his uncle Vernon.

"Enough with your nonsense, Dumbledore" Fudge bellowed. "I know what you're really doing. You're planning on using Potter to gain favor with Sirius Black. Yes, why else would Black make efforts to keep Potter's name out of the Prophet and yet leave you high and dry. You're planning on using him to gain support to overthrow the Ministry!"

As Fudge's insecurity and paranoia drove himself further into madness, Harry couldn't help but wonder how such a man got elected in the first place. And Harry could tell Prof. McGonagall was of the same mind. All the while Umbridge kept a smug grin on her face as she supported her precious Minister Fudge's rather broken logic.

"I assure you, Cornelius, I have no such plan" said Dumbledore.

"Then you won't mind coming with us to answer a few questions" said Fudge.

"Cornelius if you plan on having me arrested for your suspicions do be honest about it."

Tonks and Kingsley shared uncomfortable looks, knowing that if Fudge ordered them to, they'd have no choice but to arrest Dumbledore.

"Very well" said Fudge. "Dumbledore, you will now be escorted back to the Ministry, where you will be formally charged and then sent to Azkaban to await trail."

 _ **.**_


	21. Bumblebee and the Strawberry

I do not own Bleach or Harry Potter both belong respectively to Tite Kubo and J.K. Rowling

* * *

"Very well" said Fudge. "Dumbledore, you will now be escorted back to the Ministry, where you will be formally charged and then sent to Azkaban to await trail."

"Ah, yes" Dumbledore said gently. "Yes, I thought we might hit this little snag."

"Snag? I see no snag, Dumbledore!"

"I'm afraid I do."

"Oh really?"

"Well…it's just that you seem to be under the delusion that I am going to – what's the phrase? 'Come quietly' I am afraid I do not plan to come quietly at all, Cornelius. In fact, I have no intention of being sent to Azkaban. I could break out, of course, but what a waste of time and frankly I can think of a whole host of other things I would rather be doing."

Fudge stared at Dumbledore with a very silly expression on his face, as though he was struggling to believe what Dumbledore had just said. Umbridge was no better as her smug expression changed into one of outrage, with her face steadily growing redder by the second.

When it finally hit him, that Dumbledore was resisting, Fudge let out a small choking sound and looked to Tonks and Kingsley, silently ordering them to take Dumbledore by force.

Seeing the uncertainty in their eyes, Dumbledore gave Tonks and Kingsley a subtle nod that would've gone unnoticed to anyone not looking for it. Deciding to trust the old man had a plan Tonks and Kinsley advanced on Dumbledore, their wands at the ready.

Only his honed reflexes saw Harry drop to the floor in time as a streak of silver light flashed around the room, followed by what sounded like a gunshot, and the floor trembling for a brief moment. Through the dust, Harry saw Kingsley and Tonks fall to the ground in front of him. Fawkes screeched and there was the sound of shattered glass and a loud thud and somebody cried, "No!" another thud followed by a low groan then finally…silence.

As the dust cleared, Harry could see McGonagall had also crouched for safety, as she climbed to her feet. Doing the same, Harry took in the sight of the wrecked office. Dumbledore's desk had been overturned, the Pensieve laid broken on the floor along with the shattered remains of Dumbledore's silver instruments. Fudge, Umbridge, Kingsley, and Tonks laid motionless on the floor, while Fawkes circled overhead, singing softly.

"Unfortunately, I had to hex Kingsley and Tonks as well" said Dumbledore, as he approached McGonagall and Harry. "It would've looked suspicious otherwise. Now, they will awaken very soon and it will be best if they do not know we had time to communicate. You must act as though no time has passed, as though they were merely knocked to the ground."

Despite his feelings towards him, Harry had to admit he was impressed by Dumbledore's abilities and could understand why he was considered the most powerful wizard.

"Where will you go, Dumbledore?" McGonagall whispered. "Grimmauld Place?"

"Oh no" Dumbledore grinned. "I am not going into hiding. Fudge will soon wish he'd never dislodged me from Hogwarts, I promise you. But for now, there is work to be done."

Harry wanted to demand that Dumbledore surrender the location of Hermione's parents before he left but before he could say anything, those unconscious on the floor started to stir. Fawkes circled the office and swooped down over Dumbledore. Grasping the phoenix's long golden tail, Dumbledore and Fawkes vanished in a flash of fire.

"Where is he!" Fudge yelled, as he pushed himself off the ground. "Where is he!"

"I don't know!" Kingsley shouted, as he and Tonks leapt to their feet.

"Well, he can't have Disapparated!" Umbridge cried. "You can't inside this school!"

"The stairs!" Tonks cried, subtly winking at Harry as she flung open the door and ran out of the office, followed closely by Kingsley and Umbridge.

Fudge hesitated, then got to his feet, brushing dust from his front. There was a long and painful silence.

"Well, Minerva" Fudge said nastily. "I'm afraid this is the end of your friend Dumbledore."

"You think so, do you?" McGonagall said scornfully.

Fudge didn't seem to hear her. Instead he looked around the wrecked office, a few portraits of the previous headmasters were hissing at him; one or two even made rude hand gestures.

"You'd best get Potter to bed" he said, giving McGonagall and Harry a dismissive nod.

Prof. McGonagall didn't say a word as she marched Harry through the door. As it closed behind them, Harry heard one of the paintings say, "You know, Minister, I disagree with Dumbledore on many counts…but you cannot deny he's got style."

* * *

In a flash of fire, Dumbledore and Fawkes appeared in the den of 221 Baker Street. Understandably Sirius and Remus weren't happy with the sudden intrusion.

"What're you doing here, Dumbledore?" Sirius demanded. "When I gave you Grimmauld Place, we made it clear you weren't welcome in our home."

"Forgive me, Sirius but I am afraid circumstances have changed" said Dumbledore.

Sirius looked like he was seconds away from trying to curse the old man to death. Leaving it to fall on Remus' shoulders to keep the peace.

"What's happened?"

So, Dumbledore explained the situation and much to his disappointment the two men seemed almost pleased with his current troubles.

"I am well aware of and understand your feelings towards me. But you must understand that with me no longer at Hogwarts we must accelerate our plans against Voldemort."

The last living Marauders traded looks, their long years of friendship allowing them to communicate without words, before finally however reluctantly they turned their attention back to their uninvited guest.

"So, what do you want with us, Dumbledore?" Remus sighed. Despite working with the Order, the last thing either of them wanted was to take orders from the man.

"Nothing from you, I'm afraid" said Dumbledore, as his focus turned to Ichigo and Orihime, who'd been content to stand aside and leave the situation to Sirius and Remus. "In truth, I was hoping to acquire the aid of your new house guest."

"What do you want with us?" asked Orihime.

"It is my understanding, Mrs. Kurosaki, that you and your husband are far more suited for the task I have in mind."

Ichigo scowled, not appreciating the roundabout way Dumbledore was speaking to them.

"If you want our help going after one of these Horcrux things, just say so."

"Forgive me, Mr. Kuro…"

"Ichigo" the orange haired man interrupted. "Just call me Ichigo. I don't really mind. Now let's just do this." Not one to waste time, Ichigo pressed his combat pass to his chest releasing his Soul Reaper form.

Thrown by his direct manner, Dumbledore had to take a minute to collect himself before inviting Ichigo to take his sleeve, Assuring Orihime that he'd be careful, Ichigo grabbed Dumbledore's sleeve before disappearing in a flash of light and fire.

* * *

When Ichigo reappeared, he could smell the salt air and hear the rushing waves; a light, chilly breeze ruffled his orange hair as he stood on an outcropping of dark rocks overlooking the moonlit ocean.

"What do you think?" Dumbledore asked, as though he were picking a good sight for a picnic.

"Not somewhere I'd bring my kids" said Ichigo, as he examined their surroundings. A tower cliff behind them, a few large chunks of rock looked as though they'd broken off at some point. Overall it was a bleak, harsh, view, the sea and the rock unrelieved by and tree or sweep of grass or sand. It looked like the sort of place even the most experienced climbers might have some trouble dealing with.

"I must say agree" said Dumbledore, once Ichigo voiced his opinion. "No ordinary muggle could reach this rock and boats cannot approach the cliffs, the waters around them are too dangerous. The perfect place for a young Voldemort's victims. But our final destination lies a little father on. Come."

Dumbledore beckoned Ichigo to the very edge of the outcrop where a series of jagged niches formed footholds leading down to the half-submerged boulders in the water below. Grabbing the back of the old wizard's robes, Ichigo flash stepped them down to the boulder closest to the cliffside.

The orange haired Reaper smirked as he watched Dumbledore adjust himself, obviously not used to such high speeds.

"I thought wizards had their own high-speed technique?" Ichigo asked.

"In a sense, we do" said Dumbledore, as he regained his balance. "Though our Apparition is not so much about moving quickly as it is simply transporting ourselves somewhere else."

 _So, it's closer to a Senkaimon than a flash step_ , Ichigo reasoned.

Taking out his wand, Dumbledore summoned a thousand flecks of golden light, illuminating the water and the black wall of rock beside them. Ichigo's eyes immediately zeroed in on a fissure in the cliffside into which the dark water was swirling.

"I trust you will not object to getting a little wet" said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling.

Ichigo just scowled not appreciating the wizard's sense of humor. Undeterred, Dumbledore with the agility of a much younger man dived into the water and began to swim towards the fissure.

"Why do I keep running into crazy people?" Ichigo muttered to himself, before following after Dumbledore.

Once through the fissure it quickly opened into a dark tunnel. The slime covered walls were barely three feet apart, making it somewhat difficult for Ichigo to move with the larger Zangetsu sword strapped across his back. Relying on the light from Dumbledore's wand, they made their way deeper into the cliff until they came across a series of carved stone steps leading into a deeper cave.

Climbing out of the water, Ichigo allowed Dumbledore to cast a drying charm on their respective robes before journeying into the cave. Once inside the ancient wizard held his wand high in the middle of the room and started turning on the spot, as he examined the walls and ceiling.

"Yes, this is the place" said Dumbledore.

"How can you tell?" asked Ichigo, unable to sense anything out of the ordinary.

"It has known magic." Ichigo scowled at that considering Dumbledore's answer to be no answer at all. The Substitute Soul Reaper watched as Dumbledore continued to revolve on the spot, evidently concentrating on things he could not see.

"This is merely the antechamber, the entrance hall" Dumbledore said after a moment or two. "We need to penetrate the inner place. Now it is Lord Voldemort's obstacles that stand in our way, rather than those nature made."

Dumbledore approached the wall of the cave and caressed it with his fingertips, murmuring words too quietly for Ichigo to hear. Twice Dumbledore walked around the cave, touching as much of the rough rock as he could, occasionally pausing, running his fingers backwards and forwards over a particular spot, until finally he stopped, his hand pressed flat against the wall.

"Here" he said. "We go through here. The entrance is concealed."

Ichigo didn't bother asking how he knew that, figuring he'd get another vague answer like, "It's magic," or something equally as frustrating.

Dumbledore stepped back from the cave wall and pointed his wand at the rock. For a moment, an arched outline appeared there, blazing white as though there was a powerful light behind the crack.

Having seen enough, Ichigo stepped forward and pushed Dumbledore behind him, as he drew the Zangetsu sword off his back.

"Ichigo, I…" Dumbledore was about to protest that such a crude method would never work, when to his shock Ichigo's zanpakutō easily carved through the stone wall revealing a long dark tunnel.

"You say something?" Ichigo asked, as he returned Zangetsu to his back.

Dumbledore simply chuckled and ruefully shook his head, realizing he's grown far too used to having all the answers. "No, it's just refreshing to be proven wrong from time to time. After you."

Ichigo shrugged and passed through the archway with Dumbledore on his heels. Reaching the end of the tunnel they found themselves in a cavern on the bank of a vast black lake. A misty greenish light shone far away in what looked like the middle of the lake. The greenish glow and Dumbledore's wand were the only source of light in the otherwise unyielding darkness.

"Be careful not to step into the water" Dumbledore cautioned, as he stepped forward.

Together they set off around the edge of the lake; their footsteps echoing on the narrow rim of rock that surrounded the water. No matter how far they walked the view did not change; on one side the rough cavern wall, on the other the boundless lake of blackness with the mysterious greenish glow in the center.

"So, I thought we were looking for a Horcrux?" Ichigo spoke up, having grown tired of the oppressive silence.

"We are" said Dumbledore. "I believe our prize is in the center of the lake. The question is, how do we go about retrieving it?"

Ichigo stopped and gave Dumbledore a deadpan stare, "Couldn't I just fly out there and get it?"

"I don't see why not. Though do permit me to test a theory first."

Dumbledore then levitated a small pebble and tossed it out over the water. With a noise like an explosion, what appeared to be a very large and pale human hand erupted out of the dark water; before Ichigo, could see what it was, it vanished again with a crashing splash that made deep ripples on the mirrored surface.

"The hell was that?" said Ichigo, unable to sense anything under the water despite his best efforts.

"Something, I think, that is ready to respond should we attempt to seize the Horcrux."

Ichigo glared at Dumbledore, not appreciating how little he seems to give useful answers.

"I know. I meant what was that thing?"

"What are those things, you mean" said Dumbledore. "I doubt very much that there is only one of them. Now, shall we proceed."

Ichigo grumbling under his breath, he grabbed onto the back of Dumbledore's robe. The orange haired Soul Reaper could now understand why Harry was so frustrated with the old man's methods. A quick use of flash step saw the pair speed past the Horcrux's defenses, the pale hands unable to keep up with Ichigo's high-speed movements, as they reached a small island of smooth rock in the center of the lake.

An expanse of flat dark stone on which stood nothing but the source of that greenish light, a stone basin set atop a pedestal. Dumbledore approached the basin and Ichigo followed. Side by side, they looked down into it. The basin was full of an emerald liquid emitting that phosphorescent glow.

"What is it?" asked Ichigo.

"I am not sure," said Dumbledore. Pushing back the sleeve of his robe over his hand, Dumbledore stretched out the tips of his fingers toward the surface of the potion, only to pause without coming within an inch of it. "I cannot touch. I cannot approach any nearer than this. You try."

Staring, Ichigo put his hand into the basin and attempted to touch the potion, only to find his approach bared by an invisible barrier.

"Out of the way, please, Ichigo," said Dumbledore. He raised his wand and made complicated movements over the surface of the potion, murmuring soundlessly. Nothing happened, except perhaps that the potion glowed a little brighter.

"So, you think the Horcrux is in there?" asked Ichigo, reaching for his zanpakutō

"Yes. Though I'd prefer if you didn't destroy the basin" said Dumbledore. "It would be more beneficial to preserve it for study. Perhaps it will be of use in finding a means to better locate the others."

Ichigo agreed, remembering Kisuke Urahara telling him something about the Horcrux's unstable nature making it difficult for him to work. He was certain if they could bring him one, the former captain would be able to invent a sort of tracking device.

"So, how do we get it?" he asked Dumbledore.

"Yes, that is the problem. This potion cannot be penetrated by hand, Vanished, parted, scooped up, or siphoned away, nor can it be Transfigured, Charmed, or otherwise made to change its nature." Almost absentmindedly, Dumbledore raised his wand again, twirled it once in midair, conjuring a crystal goblet. "I can only conclude that this potion is supposed to be drunk."

"And that seems like a good idea?" honestly it seemed reckless even by Ichigo's standards.

"Yes, I believe, only by drinking it can I empty the basin and see what lies in its depths."

"And if it kills you?"

"Then I suppose you'll just have to guide my soul across" said Dumbledore "Though I doubt it will. Lord Voldemort would not want to kill the person who reached this island."

Ichigo was really starting to think there was something wrong with Dumbledore. It must've shown on his face, as Dumbledore chuckled at Ichigo's expression.

"I'm sorry, Ichigo. I should have said, he would not want to immediately kill the person who reached this island," Dumbledore corrected himself. "He would want to keep them alive long enough to find out how they managed to penetrate so far through his defenses and, most importantly of all, why they were so intent upon emptying the basin. Do not forget that Lord Voldemort believes that he alone knows about his Horcruxes.

Undoubtedly, this potion must act in a way that will prevent me taking the Horcrux. It might paralyze me, cause me to forget what I am here for, create so much pain I am distracted, or render me incapable in some other way. This being the case, Ichigo, it will be your job to make sure I keep drinking, even if you have to tip the potion into my protesting mouth. You understand?"

"Alright already" Ichigo said impatiently. "If you're going to drink it just do it already."

Chuckling at the younger man's attitude, Dumbledore lowered the crystal goblet into the potion. Meeting no resistance, the crystal glass was filled to brim, before being lifted to the old wizard's mouth.

"To your good health" Dumbledore toasted Ichigo, before draining the goblet.

"How do you feel?" Ichigo asked anxiously, as Dumbledore lowered the empty glass.

Dumbledore shook his head, his eyes closed. Ichigo wondered whether he was in pain. Dumbledore plunged the glass blindly back into the basin, refilled it, and drank once more. In silence, Dumbledore drank three goblets full of the potion. Then, halfway through the fourth goblet, he staggered and fell forward against the basin. His eyes still closed, his breathing heavy.

"Hey old man?" Ichigo called, as he shook Dumbledore's shoulder. "Can you hear me?"

Panting, Dumbledore spoke in a weak frightened voice, "I don't want . . . Don't make me . . . don't like . . . want to stop . . ."

 _Just a few cups did this to him._ Ichigo was hesitant to see what would happen if he let Dumbledore drink the rest. Decision made, Ichigo pulled Dumbledore away from the stone basin, laying him down off to the side to rest.

Once Dumbledore was out of the way, Ichigo drew the Zangetsu blade off his back and swung it at the stone basin, shattering the magical barrier, as it sliced straight through its base, spilling the potion onto the dark rocky island.

Swept along by the spilled potion, Ichigo's prize, a golden locket washed up against his feet. With the locket in hand, Ichigo prepared to take his leave. But when he turned to Dumbledore, he found the wizard drinking desperately from the lake's dark water.

Mindful of Voldemort's defenses, Ichigo immediately rushed to Dumbledore's side and attempted to pull the wizard away from the water only to find a slimy white hand had gripping the former headmaster's wrist. With a solid tug Ichigo pulled Dumbledore out of the creature's grip but it was too late. Voldemort's trap had been tripped and everywhere Ichigo looked, white heads and hands were emerging from the dark water, men and women and children with sunken, sightless eyes were moving toward the rock: an army of the undead rising from the black water.

Tightening his grip on Zangetsu, Ichigo placed himself between Dumbledore and the approaching undead. With a war cry, Ichigo swung the massive blade the pressure alone sending several of the reanimated corpse flying back into the water. But with more continuing to march towards them, Ichigo drew his shorter Zangetsu and dived into the fray.

Wielding both swords, Ichigo sliced his way through the Inferi, moving far too fast for the animated corpses to catch. But it didn't matter how many of them fell. For each one Ichigo destroyed another six would rise up to take their place. And with Dumbledore out of commission, Ichigo was losing ground.

With no end in sight, Ichigo felt he had no other choice. Placing himself between Dumbledore and the undead army, Ichigo channeled his spirit energy into his larger Zangetsu

"Getsuga Tenshō! Ichigo yelled, as he as he fired a black energy wave from each of his sword.

Confronted with the power of Ichigo's zanpakutō the army of Inferi was reduced to nothing but ashes, as the Getsuga washed over them before leaving a massive fissure straight through the cavern wall leading out into the ocean, setting off a chain reaction.

The entire cavern started to rumble as large boulders came crashing down from the ceiling, signaling the start of a cave in. As the chamber began to fall apart around them, Ichigo grabbed Dumbledore and flash stepped them out through the opening he created, reaching the open air with the entire chamber caving in behind them leaving the sight of Voldemort's childhood acts of cruelty buried for eternity.

* * *

Dumbledore's condition had grown worse by the time they'd returned to Baker Street. With the old wizard muttering in pain, lost to the nightmares brought about by Voldemort's potion. "Please make it stop, I know I did wrong, oh please make it stop and I'll never, never again . . ."

Having never seen the powerful wizard look so frightened, Remus and Sirius could only stand and stare in wonder as Ichigo asked Orihime if she could take a look at Dumbledore.

"I've never tried to heal someone's mind before" said Orihime. "But I'll do my best. Sōten Kisshun: I reject."

At her command Orihime's hairpins transformed and enveloped Dumbledore in an energy field. But despite her best efforts, it appeared to be in vain as the old wizard continued to suffer under the nightmarish effects of Voldemort's potion.

And all Ichigo, Sirius and Remus could do was step aside and watch as Orihime worked to restore Dumbledore's mind. The two Marauders couldn't help but wonder just what demons existed in their old headmaster's mind.

"Don't hurt them, don't hurt them, please, please, it's my fault, hurt me. . .hurt me…. KILL ME!"

And did he deserve whatever hell he was facing.


	22. Rebellion

AN: Sorry it's been so long. I've been crazy busy with life stuff.

I do not own Bleach or Harry Potter the both belong respectively to Tite Kubo and J.K. Rowling

* * *

 _ **BY ORDER OF**_

 _ **The Ministry of Magic**_

 _ **Dolores Jane Umbridge (High Inquisitor) has replaced Albus Dumbledore as Head of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.**_

The notices had gone up overnight, but they did nothing to explain how every single person within the castle seemed to know Dumbledore had overcome two Aurors, the High Inquisitor, and the Minister of Magic to escape. Everywhere Harry went there were students talking about Dumbledore's escape, and though the details may have varied, it was surprising how accurate the rest of their information was. Everybody was aware, for instance, that Harry was the only student to witness the scene, leaving him besieged with requests to give a firsthand account wherever he went.

Currently Harry was in the middle of telling the story to Ernie Macmillan, a Hufflepuff student in his year and fellow S.O.M.E. member. Of course, Harry was careful to leave out anything that would reveal what he'd been doing with Dumbledore. The last thing Harry needed was for it to get out that they'd been reviewing Voldemort's history, for fear of the information reaching the Dark Lord's ears.

"Dumbledore will be back before long" Ernie said confidently on the way back from Herbology after listening intently to Harry's story. "They couldn't keep him away in our second year and they won't be able to this time. The Fat Friar told me…" he dropped his voice conspiratorially, forcing Harry, Ron, and Hermione to lean in closer to hear, "…that Umbridge tried to get back into his office last night after they'd searched the castle and grounds for Dumbledore. Couldn't get past the gargoyle. The Head's office has sealed itself against her. Apparently, she had a right little tantrum…"

"Oh, I expect she really fancied herself sitting up there in the Head's office" Hermione said viciously, as they walked up the stone steps into the entrance hall. "Lording it over all the other teachers, the stupid puffed-up, power-crazy old…"

"Now, do you really want to finish that sentence, Granger?" Draco Malfoy slid out from behind the door, followed by Crabbe and Goyle. His pale, pointed face, alight with malice.

"Afraid I'm going to have to dock a few points from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff" he drawled.

"Only teachers that can dock points from Houses, Malfoy," said Ernie at once.

"Yeah, we're prefects too, remember?" snarled Ron.

"I know prefects can't dock points" Malfoy sneered, with Crabbe and Goyle sniggering behind him. "But members of the Inquisitorial Squad…"

"The what?" said Hermione sharply.

"The Inquisitorial Squad, Granger" Malfoy pointed toward a tiny silver I badge pinned to his robes just beneath his prefect's badge. "A select group of students who are supportive of the Ministry of Magic, hand-picked by Professor Umbridge. Anyway, members of the Inquisitorial Squad do have the power to dock points…So, Granger, I'll have five from you for being rude about our new headmistress…Macmillan, five for contradicting me…Five because I don't like you, Potter…Weasley, your shirt's untucked, so I'll have another five for that...Oh yeah, I forgot, you're a mud-blood, Granger, so ten for that…"

Ron pulled out his wand, but Hermione pushed it away, whispering, "Don't!"

"Wise move, Granger" Malfoy sneered. "New Head, new times. . . Be good now, Potty . . . Weasel . . ." He strode away, laughing heartily with Crabbe and Goyle.

"He was bluffing," said Ernie, looking appalled. "He can't be allowed to dock points . . . that would be ridiculous. . .. It would completely undermine the prefect system. . .."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione immediately turned to the giant hourglasses set in niches along the wall behind them, which recorded the House points. Gryffindor and Ravenclaw had been neck and neck in the lead that morning. Before their eyes, stones flew upward, reducing the amounts in the lower bulbs. In fact, the only glass that seemed unchanged was the emerald-filled one of Slytherin.

"Noticed, have you?" came Fred's voice, as he and George came down the marble staircase and joined Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ernie in front of the hourglasses.

"Malfoy just docked us all about fifty points" Harry said furiously, as they watched several more stones fly out of the Gryffindor hourglass.

"Yeah, Montague tried to do us during break" said George.

"What do you mean, 'tried'?" Ron asked quickly.

"He never managed to get all the words out" said Fred. "Might've had something to do with us forcing him headfirst into that Vanishing Cabinet on the first floor."

Hermione was appalled, "But you'll get into terrible trouble!"

"Only until Montague reappears, and that could take weeks, don't know where we sent him" Fred shrugged. "Anyway…we've decided we don't care about getting into trouble anymore."

Hermione raised a brow, "Have you ever?"

"Course we have" said George. "Never been expelled, have we?"

"We've always known where to draw the line" said Fred.

"Might have put a toe across it occasionally."

"But we've always stopped short of causing real mayhem."

"But now?" Ron asked tentatively.

"Well, now –" George began.

"– what with Dumbledore gone –" said Fred.

"– we recon a bit of mayhem –"

"– is exactly what our dear new headmistress deserves."

"You mustn't" Hermione whispered, cautious of whoever might be listening. "Umbridge would just love a reason to expel you!"

"You don't get it, Hermione, do you?" Fred smiled at her. "We don't care about staying anymore. We'd walk out right now if we weren't determined to do our bit first. So anyway," he checked his watch, "phase one is about to begin. I'd get to lunch if I were you, that way the teachers will see you can't have had anything to do with it."

"Anything to do with what?" Hermione asked anxiously.

"You'll see" said George. "Run along, now."

Fred and George turned and disappeared within the swelling crowd of students on their way to lunch. Looking highly disconcerted, Ernie muttered something about unfinished Transfiguration homework and scurried away.

"I think we should get out of here" Hermione said nervously. "Just in case…"

Ron and Harry completely agreed, and three of them joined the other students entering the great hall. Harry had barely reached the door when he found his path barred by Filch, the caretaker.

"The headmistress would like to see you, Potter" he leered.

"I didn't do it" Harry said stupidly, thinking of whatever Fred and George were planning. Filch's jowls wobbled with silent laughter.

"Guilty conscience, eh?" he wheezed. "Follow me…"

Harry glanced back at the worried looking Ron and Hermione. Assuring his friends, he'd be fine, Harry followed Filch back into the entrance hall, against the tide of hungry students.

Harry couldn't help but notice Filch appeared to be in an extremely good mood; he hummed creakily under his breath as they climbed the marble staircase. As they reached the first landing he said, "Things are changing around here, Potter."

"I've noticed" Harry said coldly. Sensing a long rant coming, Harry tuned Filch out as the man rambled on about how Dumbledore was too soft on the students. Harry was only partially aware of when they arrived at Umbridge's office.

Harry wasn't sure what he was expecting when Filch pushed him into Umbridge's office but it certainly wasn't this. All of the surfaces had been draped in lacy covers and cloths. There were several vases full of dried flowers and on one wall was a collection of ornamental plates, each decorated with large kittens wearing bows around their necks. And sitting on her desk was a large block with golden letters spelling HEADMISTRESS.

"Thank you, Argus" Umbridge said sweetly from behind the desk.

"Not at all, ma'am, not at all" said Filch, bowing as low as his rheumatism would permit, and exiting backwards.

"Sit" Umbridge said curtly, pointing toward a chair.

Taking the seat, Harry watched as Umbridge scribbled on some pink parchment for a few minutes. He knew Umbridge had been spending the better part of the year looking for some excuse to be alone with him, and Harry couldn't help but wonder what she had in store for him.

"Well now" Umbridge said finally, setting down her quill and looking far too much like a toad about to swallow a particularly juicy fly. "What would you like to drink?"

"What?" Harry wasn't sure he heard her right.

"To drink, Mr. Potter" she said, her smile widening. "Tea? Coffee? Pumpkin juice?" as she named each drink, Umbridge gave a short wave of her wand, and a cup or glass of it appeared on her desk.

Harry's instincts were screaming at him that something was wrong here, "Nothing, thank you."

"I wish for you to have a drink with me" Umbridge pressed, a dangerous undertone in her voice.

Seeing no way around this, Harry relented and asked for a cup of tea. Umbridge made a show of adding milk with her back to him, only adding to Harry's suspicions, before bustling around the desk, with a sinisterly sweet smile on her face.

"There" she said, handing Harry his tea. "Drink it before it gets cold, won't you? Well, now, Mr. Potter…I thought we ought to have a little chat, after the distressing events of last night."

Harry just sat silently, watching as Umbridge settled herself back behind her desk, obviously waiting for him to take a sip of his tea. It felt like an eternity as they sat there in silence before she broke urging him drink his tea.

Wanting to see where this was going, Harry made a show of raising his cup to his lips and pretending to take a sip, keeping his mouth tightly closed. Umbridge's smile widened.

"Good" she whispered. "Very good. Now then…" Umbridge leaned forward. "Where is Albus Dumbledore?"

"No idea" Harry said honestly, now understanding why Umbridge wanted him to have a drink so badly.

"Drink up, drink up" Umbridge urged him, still smiling. Harry pretending to drink again. "Now, Mr. Potter, let's not play games. I know you know where he's gone. You and Dumbledore have been in this together from the beginning. Consider your position, Mr. Potter…"

"I don't know where he is."

Umbridge scowled, obviously trying to understand why Harry wasn't telling her what she wanted to know.

"Very well, Potter, I will take your word for it this time, but be warned: The might of the Ministry stands behind me. All channels of communication in and out of this school are being monitored. A Floo Network Regulator is keeping watch over every fire in Hogwarts except my own, of course. My Inquisitorial Squad is opening and reading all owl post entering and leaving the castle. And Mr. Filch is observing all secret passages in and out of the castle. If I find a shred of evidence . . ."

 **BOOM!**

A sudden explosion rocked through the castle, forcing Umbridge to clutch her desk for support.

"What was…" With Umbridge's focus on the door, Harry took the opportunity to empty his tea cup in the nearest vase of dried flowers. He could hear people running and screaming several floors below.

"Back to lunch with you, Potter!" Umbridge cried, as she dashed out of the office, wand in hand.

Harry gave her a few seconds head start then hurried after her. It wasn't hard to find the source of the chaos. One floor down, pandemonium reigned. Someone (*cough* "Fred and George" *cough*) had set off an enormous case of enchanted fireworks.

Dragons comprised entirely of green-and-gold sparks were soaring up and down the corridors, emitting loud fiery blasts and bangs as they went. Shocking-pink Catherine wheels five feet in diameter were whizzing lethally through the air like so many flying saucers. Rockets with long tails of brilliant silver stars were ricocheting off the walls. Sparklers were writing swearwords in midair of their own accord. Firecrackers were exploding like mines everywhere Harry looked, and instead of burning themselves out, fading from sight, or fizzling to a halt, these pyrotechnical miracles seemed to be gaining in energy and momentum the longer he watched.

Filch and Umbridge were standing, apparently transfixed with horror, halfway down the stairs. As Harry watched, one of the larger Catherine wheels seemed to decide that what it needed was more room to maneuver, whirled toward Umbridge and Filch with a sinister wheeeeeeeeee.

With matching screams of terror, Filch and Umbridge ducked down, letting it soar straight out the window behind them and across the grounds. Meanwhile, several of the dragons and a large purple bat that was smoking ominously took advantage of the open door at the end of the corridor to escape toward the second floor.

"Hurry, Filch, hurry!" Umbridge shrieked. "They'll be all over the school unless we do something. Stupefy!"

A jet of red light shot out of the end of her wand and hit one of the rockets. Instead of freezing in midair, it exploded with such force that it blasted a hole in a painting of a soppy-looking witch in the middle of a meadow — she ran for it just in time, reappearing seconds later squashed into the painting next door, where a couple of wizards playing cards stood up hastily to make room for her.

"Don't Stun them, Filch!" Umbridge shouted angrily, as though it had been his suggestion, ignoring the fact the old caretaker was incapable of magic.

"Right you are, Headmistress!" Filch wheezed.

Dashing to a nearby cupboard, Filch pulled out a broom, and started swatting at the fireworks; within seconds the head of the broom was ablaze.

By that point, Harry had seen enough. Laughing, he ducked down low, ran to a door he knew was concealed behind a tapestry a little way along the corridor and slipped through it to find Fred and George hiding just behind it, listening to Umbridge's and Filch's yells and quaking with suppressed mirth.

"Impressive," Harry said quietly, grinning. "Very impressive. You'll put Dr. Filibuster out of business, no problem."

"Cheers," George whispered, wiping tears of laughter from his face. "Oh, I hope she tries Vanishing them next. They multiply by ten every time you try."

The fireworks continued to burn and to spread all over the school that afternoon. Though they caused plenty of disruption, particularly the firecrackers, the other teachers didn't seem to mind them very much.

"Dear, dear," Prof. McGonagall said sardonically, as one of the dragons soared around her classroom, emitting loud bangs and exhaling flame. "Miss Brown, would you mind running along to the headmistress and informing her that we have an escaped firework in our classroom?"

In the end, Umbridge spent her first afternoon as headmistress running all over the school answering the summonses of the other teachers, none of whom seemed able to rid their rooms of the fireworks without her. When the final bell rang and the students were heading back to Gryffindor Tower with their bags, Harry saw, with immense satisfaction, a disheveled and soot covered Umbridge staggering out of Prof. Flitwick's classroom.

"Thank you so much, Professor!" said Flitwick. "I could've gotten rid of the sparklers myself, of course, but I wasn't sure whether I had the authority."

Beaming, he closed his classroom door in her snarling face.

Fred and George were heroes that night in the Gryffindor common room. Even Hermione fought her way through the excited crowd to congratulate them.

"They were wonderful fireworks" she said admiringly.

"Thanks" said George, looking both surprised and pleased. "Weasleys' Wildfire Whiz-Bangs. Only thing is, we used our whole tock, we're going to have to start again from scratch now."

"It was worth it, though" said Fred, who was taking orders from clamoring Gryffindors. "If you want to add your name to the waiting list, Hermione, it's five Galleons for your Basic Blaze box and twenty for the Deflagration Deluxe."

Hermione returned to the table where Harry and Ron were sitting staring at their schoolbags as though hoping their homework might spring out and start doing itself.

"Oh, why don't we have a night off?" said Hermione brightly, as a silver-tailed Weasley rocket zoomed past the window. "After all, the Easter holidays start on Friday, we'll have plenty of time then."

Harry and Ron gave Hermione a look of disbelief, wondering if someone had done something to their friend.

"Are you feeling all right?" Ron asked, certain he'd wake up any moment to discover it was all a dream.

"Now that you mention it" Hermione said happily, "I think I'm feeling a bit . . . rebellious."

* * *

After their spectacular fireworks display the entire castle was eager to see what Fred and George would come up with next. Though to everyone's disappointment the twins' next product demonstration would take some time leaving them free to focus on their upcoming exams. Not that it would've been possible to forget about them, given the number of leaflets, and notices concerning various wizarding careers in all of the House common rooms.

Yet what really nailed in the importance of his upcoming O.W.L.s for Harry was the notice on the Gryffindor bulletin board:

 **CAREER ADVICE**

 **All fifth years will be required to attend a short meeting with their Head of House during the first week of the Summer term, in which they will be given the opportunity to discuss their future careers. Time of individual appointments are listed below.**

Harry found that he'd been scheduled to see Prof. McGonagall at 2:30 on Monday, which was during his free period when Ron and Hermione were taking Divination and Ancient Runes respectively. He and the other fifth years spent a considerable part of the final weekend of the Easter break reading all of the provided career information.

Problem was, Harry couldn't find anything that actually interested him. He honestly envied Ron and Hermione at this point as they'd pretty much found their desired careers. Ron, Harry knew was set on becoming an Auror, wanting to be the kind of wizard that would protect people.

Hermione on the other hand was leaning towards legislation in hopes of combating the corrupting plaguing the wizarding world.

So mostly they spent the weekend trying to help Harry find a career of his own.

"How about Healing?" Ron suggested, offering Harry the St. Mungo's leaflet.

Accepting the pamphlet, Harry read through the requirements. "It says you need at least an E at N.E.W.T. level Potions, Herbology, Transfiguration, Charms, and D.A.D.A. I don't think that's for me."

"Well, maybe you could try Muggle Relations" said Hermione, picking up the leaflet.

Two seconds later she threw it aside in disgust. Curious, Harry decided to read it for himself. It didn't take long to figure out why Hermione wasn't pleased with it. All the Muggle Relations office was looking for was an O.W.L. in Muggle Studies – a class that was centuries behind the times – and a good sense of fun. It was obvious they didn't take the position very seriously.

They tried going through a number of pamphlets but nothing seemed to capture Harry's attention.

"Maybe the problem is I already have a job I like" he suggested.

Understanding showed in Hermione and Ron's eyes, as they considered Harry's words. The largest influence on Harry's life were the Soul Reapers. Despite or maybe because of the danger, Harry enjoyed his work with them and found it satisfying that he was protecting people.

"Maybe you could try being an Auror" said Hermione.

"Yeah, we could go for it together" said Ron, imagining him and Harry as partners.

"I'm not sure" said Harry. Sure, being an Auror would give him a job that was about protecting people but he wasn't sure if he could bring himself to work for the Ministry. Not after everything they've done.

Unfortunately, Harry still hadn't managed to find a career by the time for his meeting with McGonagall. To make matters worse when he arrived in her office, Harry found they weren't alone. Umbridge was sitting the corner of the office, a clipboard on her knee, and a horribly smug smile on her face.

"Sit down, Potter" Prof. McGonagall said tersely. The only indication of her thoughts on their interloper were the shaking hands, McGonagall hid by shuffling the stack of pamphlets on her desk.

Harry sat down and did his best to pretend he couldn't hear Umbridge's quill scratching on her clipboard.

"Well, Potter, this meeting is to talk over any career ideas you might have, and to help you decide which subjects you should continue into sixth and seventh years" said Prof. McGonagall. "Have you had any thoughts about what you would like to do after you leave Hogwarts?"

"Well, uh…" Harry struggled to find the words, distracted by the incessant scratching of Umbridge's quill.

"Yes?" McGonagall prompted Harry.

Harry sighed knowing the professor wasn't going to like what he had to say next. Gathering his Gryffindor courage, he just blurted it out, "I don't want to be a wizard anymore."

Suddenly the sound of Umbridge's quill stopped and if Harry turned around he suspected the toad would be looking very pleased with herself. In contrast Prof. McGonagall looked as if she was moments away from passing out.

"Why…why would you say something like that?" Prof. McGonagall asked Harry, obviously struggling with the idea. "You are a wizard, Mr. Potter. You can't do anything to change that."

"I know that. I guess it'd be better to say I don't want to live in the magical world" Harry clarified. "I'm guessing you already know I have a sort of part-time job?"

McGonagall gave a small nod; it wasn't surprising given her obvious connection to the Order.

"Why wasn't I informed of this?" Umbridge's demand went unheeded as Prof. McGonagall focused her efforts on trying to prevent what she would consider a great loss for the wizarding community.

"While I don't know the full details, I was under the impression you weren't in a position to make a career out of it" said McGonagall. "Surely there's something you'd like to do in the wizarding community?"

"That's just it, I don't think there is" said Harry. "I mean I thought maybe I'd try being an Auror. But I don't think I could work for the Ministry. Not after everything they've done."

Prof. McGonagall looked like she at least understood Harry's reluctance to work for the very organization that wronged his godfather, and Fudge and Umbridge hadn't done exactly portrayed the Ministry in a good light.

As for Umbridge any pleasure she found in the thought of Harry leaving the wizarding world was forgotten the instant she heard that slight against her precious Ministry.

"Why you ungrateful little…" Umbridge's tirade was drowned out as the sound of students screaming suddenly sounded through the door. Immediately Prof. McGonagall and Umbridge left to investigate with a curious Harry following behind.

Along the way they passed what was sure to be the reason for all of the chaos. The entire stretch of corridor leading to Umbridge's office had been turned into a swamp. The sight of what was no doubt Fred and George's handiwork had Umbridge moving at a faster pace, while Harry thought he spotted a glimmer of pride and amusement in McGonagall's eyes.

Following the sound of students, they made their way to the entrance hall. What they found reminded Harry of the night Trelawny was sacked. Students were standing all along the walls forming a ring around the hall (some of them Harry obviously had been forced to walk through the swamp); teachers and ghosts were also in the crowd. Prominently among them were members of the Inquisitorial Squad, who were all looking exceptionally pleased with themselves, and Peeves who was looking almost proud as he looked down on Fred and George, who stood in the middle of the floor, cornered by Filch.

"So!" Umbridge said triumphantly, as she looked down upon her prey. "So…you think it amusing to turn a school corridor into a swamp, do you?"

"Pretty amusing, yeah" Fred smirked mischievously, not a hint of fear in voice.

"I've got the form, Headmistress" Filch said hoarsely, waving a piece of parchment. "I've got the form and I've got the whips waiting…Oh, let me do it now…"

"Very good, Argus" said Umbridge, before returning her gaze to Fred and George. "You two are about to learn what happens to wrongdoers in my school."

"You know what? I don't think we are" said Fred, turning to his twin. "George, I think we've outgrown full-time education."

"Yeah, I've been feeling that way myself" said George.

"Time to test our talents in the real world?"

"Definitely."

And before Umbridge could say a world, they raised their wands and together they cried, "Accio Brooms!"

There was a loud crash as Fred and George's broomsticks came hurtling through the corridor toward their owners, stopping sharply in front of the twins.

"We won't be seeing you" Fred told Umbridge, as he mounted his broom.

"Don't bother to keep in touch" said George, as he did the same.

Turning his focus to the ever-growing crowd, Fred announced: "If anyone fancies buying a Portable Swamp, as demonstrated upstairs, come to 93, Diagon Alley – Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes; Our new premises!"

"Special discounts to Hogwarts students who swear they're going to use our products to get rid of this old bat" George added, pointing at Umbridge.

"STOP THEM!" the toad shrieked, but it was too late. As the Inquisitorial Squad closed in, Fred and George kicked off the floor, shooting up into the air.

As they prepared to make their escape, Fred took a moment to look across the hall to the castle poltergeist.

"Give her hell from us, Peeves."

And Peeves, whom Harry had never seen take an order from a student (except for himself) gave the twins a proud salute as Fred and George wheeled about to tumultuous applause from the students below and sped out the open front doors and off into the glorious sunset.


	23. Grawp

I do not own Bleach or Harry Potter the both belong respectively to Tite Kubo and J.K. Rowling

* * *

The story of Fred and George's flight to freedom was retold so often over the next few days that Harry was sure it was destined to become the stuff of Hogwarts legend. Within a week, even those that witnessed the event were half-convinced that they saw the twins dive-bomb Umbridge on their brooms, pelting her with dung-bombs before zooming out the doors. In the immediate aftermath of their departure there was a lot of talk about copying them, so much that Harry frequently heard students saying things like, "Honestly, some days I just feel like jumping on my broom and leaving this place," or "One more lesson like that and I might just do a Weasley."

Needless to say, Fred and George weren't about to be forgotten anytime soon. Leaving behind a legacy that inspired many of the students to vie for the newly vacant positions of Troublemakers-in-Chief. Already someone has managed to slip a hairy snouted niffler into Umbridge's office, which promptly tore the place apart in search for shiny objects, leapt on Umbridge on her reentry, and tried to gnaw the rings off her stubby fingers. Dung-bombs and stink-pellets were dropped so frequently in the corridors that it became necessary for students walk around with Bubble-Head Charms on themselves.

Filch prowled the halls with a horsewhip in hand, desperate to catch the pranksters. Problem was that there were so many of them now that he didn't know which way to turn. The Inquisitorial Squad tried to help but odd things kept happening to its members. Warrington of the Slytherin Quidditch team was reported to the hospital wing with a horrible skin condition that made it look like he was coated in cornflakes. Pansy Parkinson, to Hermione's delight, missed all her lessons the following day, as she'd sprouted antlers.

But nothing compared to the master of chaos, Peeves, who seemed to take Fred's parting words to heart. The poltergeist soared the through the school, cackling madly as he upended tables, burst out of the blackboards, and toppled statues and vases. He smashed lanterns and snuffed out candles, juggled burning torches over the heads of screaming students. And whenever he fancied a break, Peeves spent hours at a time floating after Umbridge, blowing loud raspberries every time she spoke.

None of the staff except Filch saw fit to help. Only a week after Fred and George's departure, Harry witnessed Prof. McGonagall walk right past Peeves, who was determinedly loosening a crystal chandelier, and could've sworn he heard her tell the poltergeist, "It unscrews the other way."

But Peeves' increased activity and the newly emerging pranksters weren't the only things Fred and George were responsible for. For one Tuesday morning Harry, Ron, and Hermione watched from the Charms classroom window, Mr. and Mrs. Montague march angrily into the castle, they were reminded that their son was lying confused and disoriented in the hospital wing, after the twins pushed the Slytherin into the Vanishing Cabinet.

"Should we say something?" said a worried Hermione. "About what happened to him? In case it helps Madam Pomfrey cure him?"

"He'll recover" Ron said indifferently.

"Besides any trouble for Umbridge is good trouble" said Harry. He was just glad the toad was finally off his back, far too distracted by the ongoing chaos to concern herself with him.

Harry and Ron both tapped the teacups they were supposed to be charming with their wands. Harry's sprouted four very short legs that couldn't reach the desk and wriggled pointlessly in midair. Ron's grew four very thin spindly legs hat hoisted the cup off the desk with great difficulty, trembling under the weight for a few seconds before collapsing and cracking the cup in half.

"But what if Montague's permanently injured?" Hermione pressed, as she quickly mended Ron's cup with a wave of her wand.

"He'll be fine" said Ron, as his cup again tried to stand. "If you want to worry about anyone, Hermione, worry about me!"

"You?" she asked, catching her teacup as it scampered happily across the desk on four sturdy little willow-patterned legs and replacing it back in front of her. "Why should I be worried about you?"

"Mom's going to kill me when she finds out Fred and George left. I wouldn't be surprised if she sent a Howler again."

"But…"

"It'll be my fault Fred and George left, you wait" Ron said darkly. "She'll say I should've stopped them, I should've grabbed the end of their brooms and hung on or something...Yeah, it'll be all my fault…"

"Well, if she does say that it'll be completely unfair, you couldn't have done anything" said Hermione.

"Besides, it's really my fault" said Harry. "I'm the one that had you give Fred and George the prize money from the Triwizard."

"Right" Ron's face brightened up, having forgotten that little detail. "It's all your fault, Harry. Mom can't blame me at all! Can I tell her?"

"Yeah, sure" Harry shrugged, it didn't really matter to him. At least now Mrs. Weasley could be sure the twins hadn't gotten into anything dangerous or illegal to get the money for their shop.

"You know, if Montague doesn't recover soon Slytherin might be in trouble against Hufflepuff" said Ron, changing topics. "Just gives us a better chance at the Cup."

"Just don't let your nerves get the better of you" said Harry.

* * *

The final match of the Quidditch season, Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw, landed on the last weekend of May. Just as Ron predicted without Montague, Slytherin suffered defeat by Hufflepuff in the last match, knocking them out of the running. And though Ron had shown some improvement since his miraculous come from behind game saving performance against Slytherin, there were still some Gryffindors that were worried it was nothing more than a fluke (of course no one said that to him).

"Are you worried about Ron?" Hermione asked Harry, as they walked down to the pitch, without even waiting for him to answer. "Not that I am. He performed spectacularly to save the last game. And I actually believe Ron might do better without Fred and George around. They've never exactly given him a lot of confidence."

"Hermione, I'm sure Ron will be fine" said Harry, just as Luna walked past them with what appeared to be a live eagle perched on her head. _Why can't I sense you?_

"Oh, I forgot!" Hermione suddenly exclaimed, inadvertently pulling Harry away from the mystery of Luna. "Cho will be playing, won't she? You don't think she'll be taking her feelings out on him, do you?"

Harry, who hadn't forgotten this, merely shrugged. He'd like to think Cho wasn't so petty as to take his rejection of her out on his friends but what did he know about women.

They found seats in the topmost row of the stands. It was a beautiful clear day – perfect for Quidditch. Ron couldn't wish for a better day, and Harry having done an extra sweep for Hollows was feeling hopeful that he might manage to stay and watch the entire match.

Lee Jordan, who'd been very dispirited since Fred and George's departure, was commentating as usual. As the teams zoomed out onto the pitch he named the players with something less than his usual gusto.

"…Bradley…Davies…Chang"

And Harry felt his stomach lurch as Cho walked out onto the pitch, remembering the last time he saw her. Part of Harry still felt guilty, like he could've handled things with Cho better.

"And they're off!" Lee announced. "And Davies takes the Quaffle immediately, Ravenclaw Captain Davies with the Quaffle, he dodges Johnson, he dodges Bell, he dodges Spinnet as well…He's going straight for the goal! He's going to shoot – and – and – Weasley saves it!"

Harry and Hermione cheered with the rest of the Gryffindors, relieved that Ron's nerves were much more settled this time around.

"Harry" a hoarse voice said into Harry's ear. "Hermione…"

Harry looked around and saw Hagrid's enormous bearded face sticking out between the seats; apparently, he'd squeezed his way all along the row behind them, for the first and second years had ruffled, flattened looks about them. for some reason Hagrid was hunched over as though anxious not to be seen, though it wasn't very effective given he was still at least four feet taller than everyone else.

"Listen" he whispered. "Can you come with me? Now? While everyone's watching the match?"

"Can't it wait, Hagrid?" Harry asked, wanting to see how the match played out.

"No, Harry, it's got to be now…while everyone's looking the other way…Please?"

Any thoughts of protest faded as Harry took a good look at his friend. Blood was dripping from Hagrid's nose and he was sporting two black eyes.

"Alright, Hagrid. Let's go."

Harry and Hermione edged back along their row of seats, causing some grumbling among the students who had to stand up for them. While the people in Hagrid's row didn't complain, instead merely attempted to make themselves as small as possible.

"I appreciate this, you two, I really do" Hagrid told them, as they reached the stairs. He kept looking around nervously as they descended towards the lawn below. "Just hope she hasn't noticed us going…"

"You mean Umbridge?" Harry assumed. "She won't. She's got her whole Inquisitorial Squad sitting with her, didn't you see? Guess she's expecting some trouble during the match."

"Yeah, well a bit of trouble wouldn't hurt," Hagrid paused to peer around the edge of the stands, making sure the stretch of lawn between them and his cabin was deserted. "Give us more time…"

"What is it, Hagrid?" Hermione asked, looking up at him with concern as they hurried across the lawn towards the edge of the forest.

"You'll see in a moment" said Hagrid, looking over his shoulder as a great roar rose from the stands behind them. Meaning someone just scored and Harry couldn't help but wonder who.

Harry and Hermione had to jog to keep up with Hagrid as he strode across the lawn, looking around with every other step. When they reached his cabin Hermione automatically turned toward the front door; Hagrid, however, walked straight past it, and continued to the edge of the forest, where he picked up a crossbow that was left leaning against a tree. When he realized they were no longer with him, he turned.

"We're going in here" he said, jerking his shaggy head behind him. "Now c'mon, quick, before we're spotted."

Harry and Hermione traded uncertain looks before following Hagrid into the Forbidden Forest.

* * *

"Hagrid, why are you armed?" Harry asked, as their friend led them deep into the forest.

"Just a precaution" Hagrid shrugged.

"You didn't bring your crossbow the day you showed us the thestrals" Hermione said timidly.

"Well, we weren't going in so far then. And anyway, that was before Firenze left the forest, wasn't it?"

"Why does that matter?" Harry asked. He understood it must have something to do with the centaur herd, but from what he'd seen Firenze wasn't in any sort of leadership role.

"Are they angry Firenze's working at Hogwarts now?" Hermione guessed. She'd read that centaurs were very proud. Maybe they took it as an insult for one of their own to work for a wizard.

"Angry doesn't cover it" said Hagrid. "Ruddy livid. If I hadn't stepped in, I reckon they would've kicked Firenze to death. Just lucky I was passing by…would've thought Firenze might've remembered that before he started sending me stupid warnings!" Harry and Hermione traded startled looks, not used to such rage from the usually gentle Hagrid, but the scowling half-giant made no effort to elaborate. "Anyway, since then the other centaurs have been livid with me and the trouble is, they've got a lot of influence in the forest."

"Do you want me to talk with them?" Harry asked. "Is that why we're here?"

"No, it's not them. We're not far now."

Harry and Hermione followed Hagrid further into the forest, their becoming increasingly more overgrown the deeper they went the tress growing closer and closer together, blocking the sun until it was as dark as dusk.

They were so deep in the forest now that sometimes all Harry could see of Hagrid was a massive dark shape ahead of him. Instinctively, Harry reached out with his senses worried about what could be hiding in the darkness of the trees. It occurred to him that he'd never been this far into the forest without meeting some kind of creature – their absence struck him as rather ominous.

"Hagrid, would it be alright if we lit our wands?" Hermione asked quietly.

"Alright" Hagrid whispered back.

He stopped suddenly and turned around; Hermione walked right into him and was knocked over backward. Harry caught her just before she hit the forest floor.

"Maybe we best just stop for a moment, so I can…fill you in" said Hagrid. "Before we get' there."

"Good!" said Hermione, as Harry set her back on her feet. They both murmured "Lumos!" and their wand tips ignited.

Hagrid's face swam through the gloom by the light of the two wavering beams and Harry saw that he looked nervous and sad.

"Right," said Hagrid. "Well…see…the thing is…" He took a breath. "Well, there's a good chance I'm going' to be getting the sack any day now."

Harry and Hermione looked at each other, then back at him.

"But you've lasted this long" Hermione said tentatively. "What makes you think —"

"Umbridge reckons it was me that put that niffler in her office."

"And was it?" Harry couldn't help asking.

"No, it ruddy well wasn't!" Hagrid said indignantly. "Anything to do with magical creatures and she thinks it's got something to do with me. You know she's been looking for a chance to get rid of me ever since I got back. I don' want to go, of course, but if it wasn't for…well…the special circumstances I'm about to explain to you, I'd leave right now, before she gets the chance to do it in front of the whole school, like she did with Trelawney."

Harry and Hermione both made noises of protest, but Hagrid overrode them with a wave of one of his enormous hands.

"It's not the end of the world. I'll be able to help Dumbledore once I'm out of here, I can be useful to the Order. And you lot will have Grubbly-Plank, you'll — you'll get through your exams fine. . .." His voice trembled and broke. "Don' worry about me" he said hastily, as Hermione made to pat his arm. He pulled his enormous spotted handkerchief from the pocket of his waistcoat and mopped his eyes with it. "Look, I wouldn't be telling you this at all if I didn't have to. See, if I go…well, I can't leave without…without telling someone…because I'll — I'll need you two to help me. And Ron, if he's willing."

"Of course, we'll help you" Harry said at once. "What do you want us to do?"

Hagrid gave a great sniff and patted Harry wordlessly on the shoulder with such force that Harry was knocked sideways into a tree.

"I knew you'd say yes," said Hagrid into his handkerchief, "but I won't ever forget. Well, come on just a little bit further through here…Watch yourselves, there're nettles…"

They walked on in silence for another fifteen minutes. Harry opened his mouth to ask how much farther they had to go when Hagrid threw out his right arm to signal them to stop.

"Really easy" he said softly. "Very quiet, now…"

They crept forward and Harry saw that trees had been ripped up at the roots forming a barricade of trunks and branches around what Harry recognized as a sleeping giant!

He glanced sideways at Hermione, who was gazing at the mound with her mouth slightly open. She looked utterly terrified. Obviously, she too had recognized what lay before them.

"Hagrid" she whispered barely audible over the sound of the sleeping creature. "What is he doing here?"

"I had to bring him, Hermione" Hagrid said desperately. "I had to!"

"But why?" asked Hermione, sounding like she wanted to cry. "Why — what — oh, Hagrid!"

Harry was confused, not catching on to whatever Hermione had figured out.

"I knew if I just got him back" said Hagrid, sounding close to tears himself, "and taught him a few manners — I'd be able to take him outside and show everyone he's harmless!"

"Hagrid, he's a giant" said Harry. "You've said it yourself – they're naturally violent. That's why you've been so beat up all this time."

"He just doesn't know his own strength. And he's getting better, he's not fighting so much anymore."

"So, this is why it took you two months to get home!" Hermione said distractedly. "Oh Hagrid, why did you bring him back here? Wouldn't he have been happier with his own people?"

"They were all bullying him, Hermione" said Hagrid. "Cause he's so small!"

"Small?" Hermione said incredulously. "Small?" she looked to Harry for an explanation, Harry just nodded having to admit that the giants he saw at the camp were in fact much larger than the one before them. "That still doesn't explain why you brought him back here."

"Hermione, I couldn't leave him" said Hagrid, tears now trickling down his bruised face. "See — he's my brother!"

"Hagrid, when you say 'brother'" Harry said slowly "Do you mean…?"

"Well, half-brother" Hagrid amended. "Turns out my mother took up with another giant when she left me dad, an' she went an' had Grawp here —"

"Grawp?"

"Yeah . . . well, that's what it sounds like when he says his name. He doesn't speak a lot of English. I've been trying to teach him. . .. Anyway, she doesn't seem to have liked him much more than she liked me. See, with giantesses, what counts is producing good big kids, and he's always been a bit on the runty side for a giant — only sixteen feet —"

"Oh yes, tiny!" said Hermione, with a kind of hysterical sarcasm. "Absolutely minuscule!"

"He was being kicked around by all of them — I just couldn't leave him — and it's a right good thing I didn't."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"You-Know-Who, learned the giants weren't going to follow him. Didn't want to chance them joining us so he…"

Hagrid didn't have say anything else. Harry and Hermione now understood why he was so desperate for him to make this work for Grawp. His brother may very well be the last living pure-giant. Harry and Hermione sighed. What were they supposed to say to that?

"So, what do you want us to do?" Hermione asked apprehensively.

* * *

Look after him after I'm gone. Of all the things Hagrid has asked of them over the years – this was without a doubt the most foolish. Hagrid had asked them to visit Grawp weekly and attempt to teach the giant how to speak English and how to behave in the hopes that he'd eventually be accepted.

Leaving Hagrid behind Harry and Hermione made their way out of the forest just as the other students started making their way back up towards the castle.

"I don't believe him," Hermione said in a very unsteady voice, the moment they were out of earshot of Hagrid. "I don't believe him. I really don't believe him…"

"Calm down," said Harry.

"Calm down!" she said feverishly. "That's easy for you to say, Mr. Soul Reaper. There's a giant in the forest! And we're supposed to give him English lessons! I — don't — believe — him!"

"We haven't got to do anything yet!" Harry tried to reassure her in a quiet voice, as they joined a stream of migrating students. "He's not asking us to do anything unless he gets chucked out and that might not even happen."

"Oh, come off it, Harry!" Hermione said angrily, stopping dead in her tracks to glare at him. "Of course, he's going to be chucked out and to be perfectly honest, after what we've just seen, who can blame Umbridge?"

Harry stared at Hermione in disbelief, as tears built in her eyes. "You don't mean that" he said quietly.

"No…well… alright…I didn't," she said, wiping her eyes angrily. "But why does he have to make life so difficult for himself —for us?"

"I don't know."

Making their way back to Gryffindor tower, Harry and Hermione were met with the sound of boisterous cheers of celebration; several hands pulled them into the common room.

"HARRY! HERMIONE!" yelled Ron, waving the silver Quidditch Cup in the air and looking quite beside himself. "WE DID IT! WE WON!"

"Let's save the news till tomorrow" Harry whispered to Hermione.

"Yes, alright," she said wearily. "I'm not in any hurry."

While Hermione went to give Ron her congratulations, Harry did a quick scan of the room quickly locating Ginny. Harry wasn't entirely sure why he did it. Maybe he just got swept up in the celebration. Maybe he finally cracked between his slow progress in the fight against Voldemort in addition to the new responsibility of looking after Grawp. Or maybe he'd just finally gotten tired of waiting.

Whatever the reason, Harry found himself walking over to Ginny, who had a hard-blazing look on her face at the sight of him, obviously still hurt about the Cho incident. Then in a move that surprised them both, Harry kissed. And to his great relief Ginny responding in kind.

After what felt like an eternity they broke apart and with the stupidest grin on his face, Harry looked Ginny in the eye and said, "Ginny Weasley, would you go out with me?"

"Wrong order, Harry" Ginny laughed at the absurdity. Taking his hand, she led Harry out of the common room for a long walk on the grounds. And for the first time in what felt like a long time, Harry felt like he'd finally had a win.


	24. A Sirius Situation

I do not own Bleach or Harry Potter the both belong respectively to Tite Kubo and J.K. Rowling

* * *

The fact that Harry Potter was going out with Ginny Weasley seemed to interest a great number of people, most of them girls. Harry paid it no mind. Determined not to let gossipers ruin something that was making him happier than he'd been for a long time now.

"You'd think people would have better things to talk about" said Ginny, leaning against Harry, as they, Ron and Hermione studied under the beech tree on the edge of the lake. "You know, Romilda Vane actually asked me if it's true you've got a hippogriff tattooed across your chest."

"What did you say?"

"I told her it's a Hungarian Horntail. Much more macho."

"Thanks" Harry grinned. "And what did you tell her Ron's got?"

"A Pygmy Puff, but I didn't say where."

Ron scowled as Hermione rolled around laughing.

"Watch it" he said, pointing warningly at Harry and Ginny. "Just because I've given my permission doesn't mean I can't with draw it."

"Your permission" Ginny scoffed. "Since when did I need your permission for anything?"

As much fun as it was to test Ron's patience they still had something important to talk about. So, Harry and Hermione told the two Weasleys about Grawp and they were having just as hard a time believing it as they did.

"He brought one back and hid it in the forest?" Ginny said incredulously.

"I'm afraid so" Hermione said grimly.

"I went back to see him last night" said Harry. "He's about sixteen feet tall and enjoys ripping up twenty-foot pine trees."

Ginny paled a shade and gave a nervous laugh. "And Hagrid wants us to…?"

"Teach him English, yeah" Harry confirmed. "Well more like you guys. Since he'll understand anything I say to him anyway."

"He's lost his mind" said Ron, sounding almost awed.

"Yes" Hermione said irritably, glaring into her text book. "Yes, I'm starting to think he has. But unfortunately, he made Harry and I promise."

"Well, you're just going to have to break that promise" Ron said firmly. "I mean, come on…Umbridge is just looking for an excuse to chuck us out too. And anyway…remember Norbert? Remember Aragog? Have we ever come off better for mixing with any of Hagrid's monster mates?"

"Well, Harry's a Soul Reaper, he should listen to him" said Ginny, trying to calm their building hysteria. "I mean that's how it works right?"

They all looked to Harry, who sighed knowing they weren't going to like what he said next. "Yeah…usually."

"What do you mean, usually?" Hermione asked fearfully, with Ginny and Ron also paling at the implication.

"Well, turns out Grawp doesn't actually want to be here and saying I'm a friend of Hagrid's didn't help much" said Harry.

"Oh, bloody fantastic!" Ron exclaimed, throwing his arms up. "Well, Hagrid hasn't been sacked yet. He's hung on this long, maybe he'll hang on until the end of term and we won't have to go near Grawp at all."

* * *

As they moved into June, Harry was starting to hope that maybe Ron was right and Hagrid would manage to hold on. Unfortunately, their friend's continued employment was the only highpoint at the moment; June's arrival had also meant Harry and Ginny had limited time together for it was finally time for the fifth years to take their long dreaded O.W.L.s.

"Your O.W.L.s are spread over two successive weeks" Prof. McGonagall told the class on the Friday before the start of exams. "You will sit the theory exams in the morning and the practice in the afternoons. Your practical Astronomy examination will, of course, take place at night.

Now I warn you that the most stringent Anti-Cheating Charms have been applied to your examination papers. Every year, I am afraid to say, at least one student thinks that he or she can get around the Wizarding Examinations Authority's rules. I can only hope that it is nobody in Gryffindor. Our new…headmistress" she pronounced the word as it tasted foul on her tongue. "has asked the Heads of House to tell the students that cheating will be punished more severely – because of course, your exam results will reflect upon the headmistress' new regime at the school…"

McGonagall gave a small sigh, Harry noted her nostrils flared. "However, that is no reason not to do your very best. You have your own futures to think about."

Their first exam, Theory of Charms, was scheduled for Monday morning. After chasing Ginny away with a long lecture on not distracting him when he should be studying, Harry agreed to work with Hermione, spending Sunday evening testing her. Though he had the feeling he really didn't have much choice. The entire experience was rather irritating as an agitated Hermione kept snatching the book from him to check to make sure her answers were completely correct.

"Just do it yourself" Harry told her firmly, after she'd accidently hit him on the nose with the sharp edge of the text.

Meanwhile with her boyfriend time on lockdown, Ginny helped Ron go over two years' worth of Charms notes. Much to their mutual frustration the stress of the exams had actually had a negative effect on his progress; leading Ginny to theorize Ron was actually better when he wasn't trying so hard.

"Relax and go to dinner" she told her brother. "We'll pick this up afterwards." She then turned to Hermione and Harry telling them the same.

Dinner was a far more subdued than usual. Both fifth and seventh year students were too worried about their exams to engage in light conversation. Ginny was the only one that could find some humor in it all.

"After everything you've faced it's a test that freezes you guys up" she shook her head in amusement.

Logically Harry, Ron, and Hermione knew Ginny had a point. Hell, Harry himself still wasn't sure about what he even wanted to do after Hogwarts. Yet with all their professors stressing the importance of the O.W.L.s it was hard not to feel intimidated.

"Oh, my goodness" Hermione said faintly, staring into the entrance hall. "Is that them? Is that the examiners?"

Through the doors to the great hall they could see Umbridge standing with a small group of ancient-looking witches and wizards. Umbridge, Harry was pleased to see, looked rather nervous.

"Let's go take a closer look" said Harry.

Together they hastened toward the double doors into the entrance hall, slowing down as they stepped through the threshold to walk sedately past the examiners. As they passed they noted Umbridge's attention was mostly focused on the tiny, stopped witch in front, hearing the toad call her Prof. Marchbanks. She seemed to be a little deaf, answering Umbridge very loudly considering they were only about a foot apart.

"Journey was fine, we've made it plenty of times before!" she said impatiently. "Now, I haven't heard from Dumbledore lately!" she added, peering around the hall as though hopeful he might pop out of a cupboard. "No idea where he is, I suppose?"

"None at all" said Umbridge, shooting a malevolent look at Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, who were now lingering around the foot of the stairs as Ron pretended to fix his shoelace. "But I daresay the Ministry will track him down soon enough."

"I doubt it!" Prof. Marchbanks shouted. "Not if Dumbledore doesn't want to be found! I should know – examined him personally in Transfiguration and Charms when he did N.E.W.T.s. Did things with a wand I'd never seen before…"

While he may not have any love for Dumbledore, Harry found he didn't mind hearing the old woman praise their former headmaster, as they slowly dragged their feet up the stairs. Anything was worth seeing the tortured pinched expression on Umbridge's face. Maybe it wasn't the best show of character on his part, but Harry had to admit seeing Umbridge forced to hold her tongue for once did wonders to calm him, Ron, and Hermione as they returned to their studies.

* * *

The next morning after receiving a kiss for good luck from Ginny, Harry joined Ron, Hermione and the rest of the fifth and seventh year students in the entrance hall while the rest of the students went off to their lessons. At half-past nine, they were called forward class by class to reenter the great hall; the four House tables were replaced with standard single person desk, all arranged to face the front of the hall, where Prof. McGonagall stood facing them.

Once they were all seated and quiet she told them to begin and turned over an enormous hourglass on the desk beside her, once which were also spare quills, ink bottles, and rolls of parchment.

Harry turned over his paper, his heart thumping hard. Three rows to his right and four seats ahead, Hermione was already scribbling away. He lowered his eyes to the first question: a) Give the incantation, and b) describe the wand movement required to make objects fly…

Harry had a fleeting memory of a club soaring high into the air, slamming down on the thick skull of a troll…Smiling slightly, he bent over the paper and began to write…and then his combat pass went off.

Mentally cursing, Harry scrawled down instructions for Mick to simply sit there and look busy until his return before taking off to deal with the Hollow.

Two hours later they were back in the entrance hall.

"Well, that wasn't too bad, was it?" Hermione asked anxiously. "I'm not sure I did myself justice on the Cheering Charms, I just ran out of time – did you put in the countercharm for hiccups? I wasn't sure whether I ought to, it felt like too much – and on question twenty-three…"

"Hermione!" Ron cut her off. "We've been through this before. We're not going through every exam afterward, it's bad enough doing them once."

"Hey, at least you didn't have to run out in the middle of it" said Harry. Weak or not that Hollow had still cost him precious exam time.

The fifth years ate lunch with the rest of the school (the four House tables reappeared over the lunch hour) and then trooped off into the small chamber beside the great hall, where they were to wait until called for their practical examination. As a small group of students were called forward in alphabetical order, those left behind muttered incantations and practiced wand movements, occasionally poking one another in the back or eye by mistake.

"Relax, Hermione" said Ron. "You got a hundred and twelve percent on one of our Charms tests."

Hermione gave a small smile, appreciating the effort to comfort her. But the Granger girl was certain she wouldn't be able to relax until all the exams were behind them. Harry would be lying if he said he wasn't of the same mindset.

Hermione's name was then called. Trembling, she left the chamber along with Anthony Goldstein, Gregory Goyle, and Daphne Greengrass. Students who had already been tested didn't return so Harry and Ron had no idea how Hermione had done.

Ten minutes later it was Harry's turn.

"Prof. Tofty is free, Potter" Prof. Flitwick squeaked, who was standing just inside the door. He pointed Harry toward was looked like the very oldest and baldest examiner, who was sitting behind a small table in a far corner, a short distance from Prof. Marchbanks, who was halfway through testing Draco Malfoy.

"Potter, is it?" said Prof. Tofty, consulting his notes and peering over his pince-nez at Harry as he approached. "The famous Potter?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw Malfoy throw a scathing look at him, costing him his concentration resulting in the wine glass he'd been levitating to smash against the floor. Harry couldn't help but grin at that.

Tofty smiled back at him encouragingly. "That's it, no need to be nervous. Now, if I could ask you to take this eggcup and make it do some cartwheels for me…"

Overall Harry thought it went rather well; his Levitation Charm was certainly much better than Malfoy's had been, though there was a small incident when he'd accidentally swelled the rat he'd been supposed to turn orange, to the size of a small badger. When he told Ron, he'd returned the favor, confessing that he'd managed to mutate a dinner plate into a large mushroom and had no idea how it'd happened.

The next day had Transfiguration. Harry had forgotten the definition of a Switching Spell during his written exam that morning, but thought his practical could have been a lot worse. At least he'd managed to vanish the whole of his iguana, whereas poor Hannah Abbott lost her head completely at the next table and somehow managed to multiply her ferret into a flock of flamingos, causing the exam to be halted for ten minutes.

They had their Herbology exam on Wednesday and Harry felt he'd done reasonably well. Thursday was Defense Against the Dark Arts and for the first time, Harry was certain he'd passed. He had no problem with any of the written questions and took particular pleasure, during the practical exam, in performing all the counter-jinxes and defensive spells correctly in front of Umbridge, who was watching coolly from her spot near the doors into the entrance hall.

"Bravo!" Prof. Tofty cried, who was once again testing Harry, when he successfully demonstrated a perfect boggart banishing spell. "Very good indeed! Well, I think that's all, Potter…unless…" he leaned forward a little. "I heard a rumor that you can perform a Patronus. For a bonus point…?"

Harry raised his wand, looked directly at Umbridge and imagined her being sacked. "Expecto Patronum!"

The silvery image of Nakatsukasa erupted from the end of his wand and proudly spread her wings, bathing the great hall in the light of the Patronus before dissolving into a silver mist.

"Excellent!" Prof. Tofty clapped enthusiastically at the display. "Very well, Potter, you may go."

Harry and Umbridge's eyes met as he passed. The toad gave him a nasty smile but its effect was lost by her slacked jaw, clearly struggling to believe Harry's display of skill. Needless to say, Harry aced his Defense O.W.L.

On Friday, Harry and Ron had a day off while Hermione sat her Ancient Runes exam, and as they had the whole weekend ahead of them, they allowed themselves a day off from studying. Relaxing beside an open window in the Gryffindor tower, they were enjoying the feel of the warm summer breeze. Harry could see Hagrid in the distance, teaching a class on the edge of the forest. He halfheartedly tried to guess what creature they were examining when Hermione entered the common room, looking completely frazzled.

"How did it go?" Ron asked, yawn and stretching.

"I mistranslated 'ehwaz'" she said furiously. "It means 'partnership,' not 'defense,' I mixed it up with 'eihwaz.'"

"Ah well, it's only one mistake, isn't it, you'll still get…"

"Oh, shut up! It could be the one mistake that makes the difference between a pass and a fail. And what's more, someone's put another niffler in Umbridge's office."

"Good" Harry and Ron said together.

"It is not good!" Hermione said hotly. "She thinks it's Hagrid doing it, remember? And we do not want Hagrid chucked out!"

"He's teaching at the moment, she can't blame him" said Harry, gesturing to the window.

"How can you be so naïve, Harry, you really think Umbridge will wait for proof?" Hermione then stopped off towards the girl's dormitories, banging the door behind her.

"She's such a sweet-tempered girl" Ron said dryly.

Hermione's bad mood persisted for most of the weekend, though Harry and Ron found it easy to ignore as they spent most of Saturday and Sunday studying for Potions on Monday, the exam that Harry was certain would be the most difficult. Sure enough, he found the written exam to be incredibly difficult, though he did think he earned full marks on the question about Polyjuice Potion; he could still remember how he'd taken some illegally in his second year.

The afternoon practical wasn't as bad as he expected. With Snape absent from the proceedings Harry found he was more relaxed than usual. Neville, who was sitting nearby also looked happier than Harry had ever seen him during a Potions class. In the end while he wasn't sure he'd get a good grade, Harry at least felt that with a little luck he'd avoided failing.

* * *

"Here you are, Prof. Dumbledore" said Orihime, handing the former headmaster a cup of tea.

Dumbledore accepted, giving the woman a weak but grateful smile. In the weeks following his outing with Ichigo, Dumbledore's recovery had been slow going. In that time, he's remind at Baker Street under the care of Mrs. Kurosaki. Though her powers have only so far been able to grant him a few precious moments of clarity before the persistent effects of Voldemort's potion dragged his mind back into madness.

"Has there been any progress with the locket your husband and I recovered?" Dumbledore asked.

"Oh, uh, don't worry our friend should have a way to track the Horcruxes soon" Orihime assured him, a nervous smile on his face. It was a testament to how muddled his mind still was that Dumbledore failed to catch such a thing. "Why don't we get you down for a nap now?"

From the kitchen, Remus and Sirius watched as Orihime led Dumbledore out of the sitting room. While they understood the need for to care for the old wizard but that didn't stop the two Marauders from having mixed feelings with having him in their home. More so for Sirius than for Remus. Even with the knowledge of his plans and manipulations, Remus still couldn't help but feel that he still owed Dumbledore somewhat for allowing the werewolf to attend Hogwarts even while knowing his condition. The same couldn't be said for Sirius whose anger was both on the part of his godson and for the old wizard's defense of Snape.

Still it really was a blow to the heart to see the world's most powerful wizard reduced to such a state.

"I guess she can't tell him" said Sirius.

"Can you blame her?" said Remus. "Dumbledore sacrificed his own mind to retrieve the locket. It would crush him to learn it was a fake."

Sirius frowned at the memory of discovering the locket Dumbledore and Ichigo had brought back was in fact a fake Horcrux. More specifically the letter they discovered inside the locket.

 _ **To the Dark Lord,**_

 _ **I know I will be dead long before you read this but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret. I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can. I face death in the hope that when you meet your match you will be mortal once more.**_

 _ **R.A.B**_

R.A.B: Regulus Arcturus Black. Sirius' brother. The brother that he'd believed had died a coward's death. Not once had he imagined that his brother had actually died opposing the very Dark Lord, he'd sworn to serve. And of course, Kreacher, the only one that Sirius could think of that might know the full story of what happened to his younger brother was nowhere to be found. Sirius couldn't deny the irony considering how long he'd wished to never see the old house-elf again.

"Sirius?" Remus called, dragging his friend back to the present. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Moony" said Sirius. "Just gonna get some air."

Knowing better than to try and force his friend to talk about his feelings of all things, Remus said nothing as Sirius headed for the door. As the dog Animagus reached for the door, it was suddenly blasted off his hinges sending Sirius flying back.

"Sirius!" wand drawn, Remus rushed to his friend's side, helping him up as they braced themselves for what they expected to be a Death Eater attack.

But to their shock it wasn't Voldemort's followers that came charging into their home – it was a squad of Aurors. Sirius and Remus tempers raged as standing alongside the lead Auror was none other than a smug looking Severus Snape.

Snape looked all too pleased with himself as the Auror in charge told them their charges "For harboring known fugitive Albus Dumbledore, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin you are under arrest."


	25. Where's Harry?

I do not own Bleach or Harry Potter the both belong respectively to Tite Kubo and J.K. Rowling

* * *

Unaware of the attack on his home, Harry attended Wednesday morning's Astronomy theory exam. It went well enough though Harry wasn't confident that he'd gotten all the names of Jupiter's moons right but at least was confident none of them were made of cheese.

With their Astronomy practical scheduled for that night, Harry had the afternoon to review while Ron and Hermione were busy with their Divination and Arithmancy exams respectively. Or at least that was original plan until he ran into Ginny and ended up spending the free period with her by the lake.

Later that night the fifth years arrived at the top of the Astronomy Tower, finding it was a perfect night for stargazing. Each of them set up his or her telescope and when Prof. Marchbanks gave the word, proceeded to fill in their star charts.

Professors Marchbanks and Tofty walked among the students, observing their work. All was quiet except for the rustle of parchment and the scribbling of many quills. Time passed and one by one each of the lights vanished from the castle windows, as the rest of Hogwarts went to sleep.

As Harry filled in the constellation Orion on his chart, however the front doors of the castle opened directly below where he was standing, revealing not everyone had gone to sleep as a half dozen people slipped out onto the lawn. One of which he sensed was Umbridge.

Knowing he needed to complete his exam, Harry refocused his telescope onto Venus. He was about to enter the planet onto his chart, when he was distracted by the movements of Umbridge and her party, noting that they were dressed in long dark cloaks that would've hidden them from sight, if not for the moonlight.

 _What am I doing? I don't have time for this._ Harry turned his focus back to his exam only to once more be distracted by the muffled barking of a large dog. Knowing there was only one dog on the grounds, Harry looked out across the field to Hagrid's hut, where there were lights on in the windows. The door opened and Umbridge and her party walked over the threshold, closing the door behind them and there was silence.

Then suddenly a loud roar echoed out from the cabin. Several people around Harry peaked out from behind their telescopes and instead stared out at Hagrid's cabin.

Prof. Tofty cleared his throat, "Try and concentrate, now, students."

While most of the students returned to their telescopes, Harry glanced to his left and saw that Hermione's gaze was still transfixed at Hagrid's.

"Ahem – twenty minutes to go" said Prof. Tofty.

Hermione hurriedly returned at once to her star chart; Harry looked down at his own and noticed he'd mislabeled Venus as Mars. He went to correct it. Then suddenly everyone jumped as a loud BANG came from the grounds.

At once everyone hurried over to see what was happening.

Hagrid's door had been blasted open and by the light flooding out from the cabin they saw him quite clearly, surrounded by six people, all of whom, judging by the streaks of red light they were casting in his direction, seemed to be attempting to stun him.

"No!" Hermione cried.

Scandalized Prof. Tofty chastised Hermione for her outburst, reminding her they were in the middle of an exam. Not that it mattered. Nobody was paying attention to their star charts, their focus now entirely on what was happening on the grounds below.

Despite his attackers' best efforts, Hagrid remained on his feet, and as far as Harry could see, fighting. Cries and yells echoed across the grounds; a man yelled, "Be reasonable, Hagrid!" and Hagrid roared, "Reasonable be damned! You won't take me like this, Dawlish!"

Harry could see the tiny outline of Fang, attempting to defend his master, leaping at the wizards surrounding Hagrid, until a Stunning Spell caught him and fell to the ground. With a monstrous howl, Hagrid lifted the culprit and threw him; the man went flying for what looked like ten feet and didn't get back up. Hermione gasped in horror; Harry looked to Ron and saw that he shared in Hermione's fear. None of them had ever seen Hagrid really lose his temper before…

"Look!" someone cried out as the front doors of the castle opened once more and a single long black shadow was now sprinting across the lawn. Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked to each other as they all realized it was Prof. McGonagall.

"How dare you!" McGonagall shouted, as she ran. "On what grounds are you attacking him? He has done nothing, nothing to warrant such…"

Many of the students screamed as the figures attacking Hagrid fired no fewer than four stunners at the Gryffindor Head of House. For a moment she looked luminous, illuminated by an eerie red glow, then was lifted off her feet, landing hard on her back, and moved no more.

"Galloping gargoyles!" Prof. Tofty shouted, who seemed to have forgotten the exam entirely. "Not so much as a warning! Outrageous behavior!"

Harry had seen enough. Looking to Ron and Hermione, silently asking them to watch over his body, Harry moved to the back of the tower away from the crowd of onlookers and took Soul Reaper form.

Moving faster than the eye could see, Harry flash stepped around the field, knocking back Hagrid's attackers, delivering high-speed punches and kicks that left the wizards flat on their backs.

"What're you doing?!" Umbridge shrieked, frantically searching for whatever force was taking out her men. While Hagrid might not have been able to see Harry – moving as fast as he was – the half giant wasn't about to let the opportunity slip by and with the stunned Fang around his shoulders, took off running. "Get him, get him!" and Harry took great pleasure in shutting Umbridge up with a quick blow to the back of the head, before speeding back into his body.

Trading grim looks, Harry, Ron, and Hermione could only watch as Hagrid's towering form ran full-speed towards the gates, disappearing into the darkness as he left Hogwarts behind.

* * *

"That evil woman!" Hermione gasped, her rage making it difficult to speak. "Trying to sneak up on Hagrid in the dead of night!"

"Hagrid did well though, didn't he?" said Ron, more alarmed than impressed. "How come all the spells bounced off him?"

"His giant blood" Hermione explained. "It's difficult to stun a giant, they're like trolls, really tough."

"Yeah, but I'm worried about Prof. McGonagall" said Harry. "Taking four Stunners in the chest…"

"At least they didn't get Hagrid" said Ron. "Think he's gone to join Dumbledore?"

"I suppose so" Hermione said tearfully. "Oh, this is awful, I really thought Dumbledore would be back before long, but now we've lost Hagrid too…"

Harry begrudgingly had to agree. Despite his feelings towards the man Hogwarts was better with Dumbledore in charge. Of course, that wasn't much of a stretch considering Umbridge's cruelty and incompetence.

They entered the Gryffindor common room to find it filled with students. The commotion out in the grounds had woken several people, who had hastened to rouse their friends. Seamus and Dean, who had arrived ahead of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, were now telling everyone what they had heard from the top of the Astronomy Tower.

"But why sack Hagrid now?" Angelina Johnson asked, shaking her head. "It's not like with Trelawney, he's been teaching much better than usual this year!"

"Umbridge hates part-humans" Hermione said bitterly, taking a seat in one of the armchairs. "She was always going to try and get rid of Hagrid."

"And she thought Hagrid was putting nifflers in her office" said Katie Bell.

"Oh blimey" Lee Jordan gasped. "It's been me, putting nifflers in her office. Fred and George left me a couple, I've been levitating them in through her window…"

"She would've sacked him anyway" said Dean Thomas. "He was too close to Dumbledore."

"That's true" said Harry, sinking into the armchair beside Hermione's.

"I just hope Prof. McGonagall's alright" Lavender Brown said tearfully.

"We were watching through the window" said Colin Creevey. "They carried her back up to the castle. She didn't look very good…"

"I'm sure she'll be ok" said Ginny. "Madam Pomfrey's one of the best."

It was nearly four in the morning before the common room cleared. And peaceful sleep was a difficult thing to find for Harry that night — haunted by the image of Hagrid sprinting away into the dark and woke three hours later feeling distinctly unrested.

* * *

The fifth years entered the great hall at two o'clock for their final exam, History of Magic, and took their places in front of their overturned examination papers. Harry felt exhausted. He just wanted this to be over so that he could go and sleep. Then tomorrow, he and Ron were going down to the Quidditch pitch and savor their freedom from studying.

"Turn over your papers," said Prof. Marchbanks from the front of the hall, flicking over the giant hourglass. "You may begin."

Harry stared fixedly at the first question. It was several seconds before it occurred to him that he had not taken in a word of it; there was a wasp buzzing distractingly against one of the high windows. Slowly, tortuously, he began to write an answer.

He was finding it very difficult to remember names and kept confusing dates. He simply skipped question four: _**In your opinion, did**_ _ **wand legislation contribute to, or lead to better control of, goblin riots of**_ _ **the eighteenth century**_? thinking that he would go back to it if he had

time at the end. He took a stab at question five: _**How was the Statute of Secrecy breached in 1749 and what measures were introduced to prevent a recurrence**_ **?** but had a nagging suspicion that he had missed several important points.

He looked ahead for a question he could definitely answer, and his eyes alighted upon number ten: _**Describe the circumstances that led to the Formation of the International**_ _**Confederation of Wizards and explain why the warlocks of Liechtenstein**_ _**refused to join.**_

 _I know this,_ Harry thought, though his brain felt torpid and slack. He could visualize a heading, in Hermione's handwriting: _The Formation_ _of the International Confederation of Wizards._ He'd read those notes only this morning.

He began to write, looking up now and again to check the large hourglass on the desk beside Prof. Marchbanks. He was sitting right behind Parvati Patil, whose long dark hair fell below the back of her chair. Once or twice he found himself staring at the tiny golden lights that glistened in it when she moved her head very slightly and had to get a gentle reminder from Nakatsukasa to focus on his exam.

… _the first Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation_ _Wizards was Pierre Bonaccord, but his appointment was contested by_ _the Wizarding community of Liechtenstein, because_ — _What was it that Bonaccord had done to offend the wizards of Liechtenstein?_

Harry had a feeling it had something to do with trolls.

" _Don't suppose you'd give me some help?"_

" _I believe I've done enough helping you to keep focused"_ came Nakatsukasa's amused reply.

Harry expected as much. Despite his relationship with his zanpakutō spirit being a bit more talkative than the average Soul Reaper's there were limits even for Nakatsukasa on how she'd lend him her aid.

" _Oh, don't be like that. This is your exam to pass or fail. Just trust your instincts."_

" _Ok. just trust my instincts."_ Harry closed his eyes and buried his face in his hands, trying to block out all distractions while he tried to come up with an answer. _Bonaccord had wanted to stop troll-hunting and give the trolls rights…but Liechtenstein was having problems with a tribe of particularly vicious mountain trolls…That's it!_

Harry opened his eyes; they stung and watered at the sight of the blazing-white parchment. Slowly he wrote two lines about the trolls then read through what he had done so far. It did not seem very informative or detailed, yet he was sure Hermione's notes on the confederation had gone on for pages and pages. He closed his eyes again, trying to see them, trying to remember.

…The confederation had met for the first time in France, yes, he had written that already…Goblins had tried to attend and been ousted…He had written that too…And nobody from Liechtenstein had wanted to come…

 _Think,_ he told himself, his face in his hands, while all around him quills scratched out never-ending answers and the sand trickled down the hourglass. Just as it felt like he was starting to remember, Harry lost his train of thought as the doors to the great hall were thrown open and a gleeful Madam Umbridge marched inside.

"What is the meaning of this?" Prof. Marchbanks demanded. "We are in the middle of exams."

"I need Harry Potter in my office immediately" Umbridge smiled sadistically. "There appears to have been an incident with his godfather."

Harry did his best to ignore the students whispers as he rose from his desk. Seeing the worried expressions on Ron and Hermione's faces he tried to give them a reassuring look but his heart wasn't in it. Fearing the worst had happened to Sirius.

The Hogwarts rumor mill was in full effect by the time Ron and Hermione got out of the exam. With no one having seen Harry since he was called away the entire castle was filled with rumors ranging from Umbridge eating him to Harry being shipped off to Azkaban.

Afraid to even imagine what could be happening to their friend, Ron and Hermione rushed back to the Gryffindor Tower unsurprisingly running into Ginny on the way. Paying their housemates, no mind the trio hurried to the room Harry shared with Ron and pulled the Marauders Map from his trunk.

"I solemnly swear I'm up to no good." Activating the map, they frantically searched for Harry's name only to find he wasn't anywhere in the castle.

"This doesn't make any sense" Ginny panicked. "You said Umbridge took Harry to her office."

"That's what she told us" said Hermione, struggling to keep calm.

"Maybe, he's just working" Ron suggested hopefully.

But that hope was quickly dashed as they realized not even ghosts were exempt from the map meaning even in Soul Reaper form Harry's name should've been there. Harry simply wasn't in the castle. The question was, where did he go?


	26. Where's Harry? Pt 2

I do not own Bleach or Harry Potter the both belong respectively to Tite Kubo and J.K. Rowling

* * *

No matter how many times they looked at the Marauders Map there was no denying it. Harry was missing from the castle. The question was, where did he go? With every passing moment Ron, Ginny, and Hermione found themselves imaging scenario after scenario each one worse than the last of what could've happened to him.

"Ok, we need to think" said Hermione, struggling to remain calm.

"Maybe we can talk to Prof. McGonagall" Ginny suggested.

"Yeah, she's with the Order" said Ron. "Maybe she can get a message out."

Thinking their Head of House had to still be in the hospital wing, they closed the Map and raced out of Gryffindor Tower. Ignoring the muttered reproaches of the portraits they passed along the way they burst through the doors of the hospital wing like bats out of hell, causing Madam Pomfrey, who'd been administering a potion of some kind to one of her patients, to shriek in alarm.

"What do you all think you're doing?"

"We need to see, Prof. McGonagall" Ginny gasped, as she and the others struggled to catch their breaths. "Now…it's urgent."

"She's not here" Pomfrey said sadly. "She was transferred to St. Mungo's this morning. Four Stunning Spells straight to the chest at her age? It's a wonder they didn't kill her."

"She's…gone?" Ron, Ginny, and Hermione were stunned. McGonagall always seemed so strong. Even Hermione didn't pay it any mind when the bell rang outside, followed by the usual distant rumbling of students moving about to their next destinations. All they could do was stand there staring at Madam Pomfrey. Terror welling up inside them.

There was nobody left to tell. Dumbledore was gone, Hagrid was gone, and now even Prof. McGonagall was gone. What else could they do?

"I'm not surprised you're shocked" Pomfrey said with a kind of fierce approval. "Let me tell you, not a one of them could've stunned Minerva McGonagall head on by daylight! Cowardice, that's what it was…despicable cowardice. If I weren't so worried what would happen to you students without me, I'd resign in protest!"

Without a word they walked blindly from the hospital wing into the teeming hall paying no mind as they were buffeted by the crowd, their heads swimming as they struggled to figure out what to do next.

When Ginny suddenly gasped struck by an idea. "Hedwig!" seeing the confusion on Ron and Hermione's faces she explained. "Remember when Hermione was trapped in Dilan's Fullbring. We couldn't find her but Crockshanks could."

"Of course, the familiar bond!" Hermione caught on quickly. "Hedwig should be able to find Harry anywhere."

Without a moment to spare they raced off towards the owlery. But when they arrived they were met with the disheartening sight of an injured Hedwig; her feathers ruffled and was holding one of her wings at an odd angle as she laid quivering on the floor.

"Oh, Hedwig!" Ginny gasped, struggling to hold back her tears. When she made to pick her up, Hedwig gave a little jump, all her feathers on end. "It's ok, Hedwig. I won't hurt you" she said soothingly. Calming, Hedwig allowed Ginny to gently take her into her arms; mindful of the owl's injured wing, Ginny turned to Hermione and Ron for answers.

"Prof. Gubbly-Plank should be able to help" said Hermione. They looked out at the grounds but saw no sign of her anywhere near Hagrid's cabin; assuming she wasn't teaching, she was probably in the staffroom.

Knowing that Harry would never forgive them if they didn't help Hedwig immediately, they set out, the snowy owl hooting feebly in Ginny's arms.

Upon arrival they found the staffroom door flanked by two stone gargoyles. As they approached one of the croaked, "This room is for staff only you lot."

"Open up!" Ron demanded.

"Oooh this one's a bit rude" said the other gargoyle in a high-pitched voice.

"Please it really urgent" Hermione pleaded.

"Ooooh, urgent, is it?" the first gargoyle mocked. "Well, that put us in our place, hasn't it?"

"That's enough!" between her missing boyfriend and his injured owl, Ginny didn't have the patience for the smart mouthed statues. Ignoring their protests, the Weasley girl marched right past them and banged on the door. "Prof. Grubbly-Plank, are you in there? We need your help."

The sound of footsteps could be heard before the door opened to reveal the very woman they were looking for, smoking a pipe and holding a copy of the Daily Prophet.

"What seems to be the…" she paused as she noticed Hedwig's poor state. Taking the owl from Ginny she carefully examined the owl's damaged wing. "Hmm. Looks like something attacked her."

"Can you help her?" Ginny asked.

Prof. Grubbly-plank pulled a monocle from her robes and put it on to examine Hedwig's wing more closely. "I should be able to sort this out if you leave her with me." Ginny, Ron, and Hermione breathed a sigh of relief at least Harry wouldn't have to come back to find his beloved owl in pain.

"Thank you, so much" said Ginny with Ron and Hermione also voicing their appreciation.

"No problem" Prof. Grubbly-Plank said gruffly, turning back into the staffroom.

With the situation with Hedwig sorted, Ginny turned to Ron and Hermione. "So, what now?" they still had no way of finding Harry.

"We need to stop and consider our options" said Hermione. "We know Harry's not anywhere on the grounds and we can't possibly track him. So, maybe we just need to contact someone who can."

"But we already lost Hedwig" said Ron. "Who else have we got?"

"Well, there is the only other Substitute Soul Reaper we know" said Ginny.

"My thoughts exactly" said Hermione. "Umbridge also said something about a problem with Sirius. And I know the Kurosakis were staying with them."

"Maybe he can tell us what's going on" said Ron, catching on. "But how're we supposed to talk to them. An owl will take too long."

"We could use the Floo" Ginny suggested.

"Umbridge is monitoring all communications in and out of the castle" said Hermione. "We'll have to break into her office."

"We're going to need a distraction" said Ron. "I could tell her Peeves is smashing up the Transfiguration department or something, it's miles away from her office…Come to think of it, I could probably get Peeves to do it for real."

It was a testament to the seriousness of the situation that Hermione made no objection to smashing up school property.

"Ok. But we'll also need to keep the students away while we force our way inside, or some Slytherin's bound to go and tip her off."

"Maybe I can be of help."

Ron, Hermione, and Ginny practically jumped out of their skins before turning to find Luna Lovegood standing there serenely.

"I don't know why you need to get into Umbridge's office, but I'd be happy to help" she told them.

Ron, Hermione, and Ginny traded looks – they couldn't deny that an extra pair of eyes couldn't hurt.

"Alright" said Ginny. "Luna and I can stand at either end of the hallway and warn people not go down there because someone's set off a load of Garroting Gas." Hermione looked surprised at how quickly Ginny had come up with the lie. "Fred and George were planning to do it before they left" the Weasley girl shrugged.

"Alright, we'll have to do this quickly" said Hermione. It wasn't a perfect plan, but they had to hurry – there was no telling what kind of danger Harry was in.

So, once Ron successfully lured Umbridge away from her office and with Ginny and Luna running interference, Hermione snuck her way inside, surprised to find no extra security in place after Lee Jordan's niffler prank.

Dashing over to the fireplace she seized the pot of Floo powder and threw a pinch into the flames turning them an emerald green. She knelt down and quickly thrust her head into the fire and cried, "221 Baker Street!"

Hermione's vision spun as she struggled to keep her eyes open against the whirling ash, and when it stopped she was met with the sight of the Baker Street living room in complete disarray as if the place had been ransacked.

Fearing the worst, it came as great relief when Remus came into view – though he too was looking a little worse for wear.

"Remus, thank goodness" Hermione sighed. "What happened?"

"Snape betrayed us" Remus said bitterly. He went on to explain how Snape led a team of Aurors to their doorstep to capture Dumbledore along with Sirius and himself for providing shelter for the former headmaster. Luckily Snape hadn't counted on their houseguests. The battle only lasted an instant before Ichigo easily dispatched the Aurors. "Unfortunately, Snape managed to slither away like the miserable snake he is."

"Was anybody hurt?"

Remus shook his head. "No thankfully. Though, Orihime did check us over before she left with the children. She and Ichigo thought it best to get them out of harm's way."

Hermione nodded understanding the couple's desire to protect their family. But this of course led to a whole new problem. She had no doubt that Umbridge knew about the attack and if Sirius was fine then that means Umbridge lied to get Harry alone.

"Remus, we have a problem. Harry's missing. I think…" but before she could say any more, Hermione was forcibly dragged by her hair backward through the flames until she found herself staring up at the wide ashen face of Prof. Umbridge, who keeping a tight grip on her hair.

"Seems even brightest witch of her age" she whispered mockingly, bending Hermione's neck back as if to slit the girl's throat. "Did you really think that after two nifflers, I was going to let one more foul, scavenging little creature enter my office without my knowledge? I had stealth sensor spells placed all around my doorway after the last one got in. Take he wand," she barked at someone she couldn't see, and Hermione felt a hand rifle through her pockets and remove her wand.

"Where's Harry?!" Hermione croaked.

Umbridge's face twisted with rage as she threw Hermione into her desk. Righting herself, Hermione could see Malfoy standing by Umbridge's side looking every bit the proud toady she imagined him to be.

"One should know their place when speaking to one's betters" said Umbridge.

There was a commotion outside and several large Slytherins entered, each gripping Ron, Ginny, Luna, and to – Hermione's bewilderment – Neville, who Crabbe had held in a stranglehold and looking dangerously close to suffocation; all of them gagged.

"Got them all" said Warrington, roughly shoving Ron forward. "That one", he pocked a thick finger at Neville, "tried to stop us from taking them" he pointed to Ginny and Luna, the former of which was trying to kick the shins of the large Slytherin holding her, "so, I brought him along too."

"Good, good" said Umbridge, watching Ginny's struggle. "Well, it looks as though Hogwarts will shortly be a Weasley-free zone, doesn't it?"

Malfoy laughed loudly – ever the sycophant. Umbridge gave her wide, complacent smile and settled herself into arm chair, blinking up at her captives like a toad in a flowerbed.

"So, Mudblood" Hermione bristled at the insult. While Ron's reaction was a bit more explosive forcing Warrington to tighten his hold as the Weasley boy looked as if he was ready to strangle the life out of Umbridge for that. "You stationed lookouts around my office and sent this buffoon" she nodded at Ron, and Malfoy laughed even harder, "to distract me. Clearly, it was very important for you to talk to somebody. Was it Albus Dumbledore? Or the half-breed, Hagrid? I doubt it was Minerva McGonagall, I hear she is still too ill to talk to anyone…"

The Gryffindors all lunged forward at the insult of their Head of House only to be held back by Malfoy and the other members of the Inquisitorial Squad, all of them laughing along with Umbridge.

"Where is Harry?" Hermione repeated her demand.

"Very well" Umbridge said in her most dangerous and falsely sweet voice. "If you must know, Mr. Potter is currently on his way…to the Dark Lord."


End file.
